Q and A

April 26, 2006

Q: You've often talked about the best and worst cities to perform in from the standpoint of fan interaction and travel convenience, but what about the actual facilities? What are your favorite and least favorite buildings to perform in, based on atmosphere, history, quality of facilities, etc.?
A: The building doesn’t really enter into it for me. It’s all about the crowd and the reaction they provide.

Q: Can you explain what it was like living in the "Smokey Mountain Flop House" with D'Lo, Jericho, Kane and others. Any good stories you are willing to share?
A: I didn’t stay in it, but when I was there it was called the Smokey Mountain Homeless Shelter, as a joke. A couple of the guys had a house/apartment in Morristown TN, which had 3 or 4 bedrooms, so a lot of guys rotated through their over the course of SMW. Guys who only came in for a few days often stayed there as well. I don’t have any stories, as again I never stayed there.

Q: A couple of years ago I remember a debate in which you were involved. It centered around fans calling you by your real name ans as I recall you were pretty much against it. I was wondering if your opinion had changed on this at all and also how do your collegues and students refer to you, Are you known as Lance Storm, Lance, Mr Storm or by your birth name which out of respect I obviously won't mention here?
A: I am still against fans calling the boys by their real names, unless that is the public name they use as well. With me it’s easy as Lance works either way.

Q: Just wondering what you think of Mick Foley as a performer / person (mainly performer, we all know he’s a good guy, lol).
A: I think Mick is a great performer. He does rely heavier on big bumps than most but he still is a great performer and is one hell of a talker.

Q: As a fan, I can appreciate & enjoy all styles of wrestling, but I've always wondered what wrestlers like yourself with more technical styles in the ring must think of guys like Foley with "hardcore" reputations. How would you rate him overall as a wrestler?
A: I don’t like rating guys. I think those who like Mick’s stuff should support him and those who don’t should support others. I don’t enjoy much of the “hardcore” style, but it has it’s place and Mick is more than just hardcore anyway. I like Mick’s work.

Q: Also, yours thoughts on Verne Gagne in the HOF? I've read lots about him in several books but never actually seen a match of his. :-(
A: I think he is the first person to get in who never worked for WWE. I guess it is official now. It isnt’ the WWE Hall of Fame, it is WWE’s Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame. Verne was before my time but the AWA was huge in it’s day so he likely deserves recognition.

Q: I wanted to ask you a question about life as a WWE superstar. When you were on RAW what was you everyday life like. What Im asking you to do is, If you dont mind. Give me a "play-by-play" schedule of what you did everyday. For example:
Sunday- wake-up at 5:00 AM and go to airport. Fly to Texas. Rent a car from Budget rentals. Go to hotel, eat at ??
A: Here is the rough average breakdown for me when I was on the road for WWE.

- Friday morning get up at 4am to head to airport

- Arrive in first town usually mid afternoon (pick up rental car and travel partners)

- Go eat, then hit the gym. Then go directly to the building to work event.

- Go eat and then hit the road to drive approx. 200 miles to next town

- Arrive at hotel maybe 3am, crash and sleep.

- Get up late morning early afternoon, go eat breakfast, go to the gym, go have lunch (if time), then go to the building to work.

- Sometimes we would drive the whole loop in which case we would repeat the same thing the next day, but other times we would have a flight. To show the other option I’ll assume we had a flight.

- After the show grab a bite to eat and return to the hotel usually around 11 pm.

- Get up around 6am and head to airport, return rental car, and check in for flight.

- Arrive in next town late morning, pick up rental car. (this town is usually where we tape TV on the Monday but it is only Sunday.

- Go have breakfast, check into hotel, then hit the gym.

- Drive approx. 150 miles to the next show. Grab food if time.

- Head to building to work the event.

- Grab something to eat, and drive back to hotel in original city.

- Arrive around 12 or 1am go to sleep

- Get up 9 – 10 am grab breakfast, head to gym.

- Head to building to check in for TV (usually by noon or 1pm)

- Finish TV by midnight and get something to eat, then back to the hotel by 1am

- I always had early flights because of the long trips. Maybe sleep 3-4 hours

- Get up by 4-5 am and head to airport, return rental car check in and then fly home.

- Arrive home mid afternoon on Tues.

- This gave me 2 ½ days to do my laundry, repack my gear, book hotels and rental cars for next week, get caught up on my sleep and try to spend time with my family.

- Friday morning, start it all over again. Do this 51 weeks a year.

Q: Just curuis what your thoughts about the content, feuds and storylines of WWE and TNA are? I wish you were still wrestling in WWE because your matches and storyline bits were always very entertaining. I always felt that WWE didn't appreciate your talent and kept you down. You are right on par with Benoit, Angle, etc.
A: Thanks for the compliment. With both TNA and WWE I both like and dislike what they do. Some of the angles are great while others don’t entertain me. It would take to long to itemize which I like and which I don’t.

Q: What do you think about Vince's "Kiss My Ass Club"? I think it's a really stupid idea, and the Diva Search is just wasted money. The women's division isn't what it used to be either. No wonder Trish is still the woman's champ.
A: The Kiss my ass club always delivers ratings so you can’t blame them for bringing it back. Same for the Diva search, if people would just switch channels when this stuff is on WWE would quit doing them. It’s up to the viewers to a large extent.

Q: Why aren't more wrestlers getting into pilates, yoga and tai chi chuan? Obviously everybody is different, but in a profession so determined by everyday wear and tear, there's no excuse for not taking the best care of one's self possible.
A: Take a look at the schedule piece I did early on this page. Most guys are still trying to find time to see their families. It’s a struggle to hit the gym 5 days a week, let alone take up a new interest like yoga.

Q: thoughts on carlito? can he become a big star?
A: I like Carlito, but it depends on what you consider a big star. Some might say his current level is big. If you mean Heavy Weight champ, I doubt that big.

Q: Should guys get more time off to rest. like give a guy a few days off now and then. Guys coming back from time off from injury seem much more fresh after return.
A: I think guys do need more time off, yes. I think you need more than just a few days off however. You need at least 7-10 days undisturbed at home to recharge, and that isnt’ counting injuries.

Q: Is there a lot of risk of something going wrong with the van daminator? seems like there is too me.
A: I wouldn’t say going wrong. He is trying to kick a chair at your face, which is usually what happens. Sometimes it hurts a little sometimes a lot. That’s about it. I took a few stitched from on once.

Q: could WWE make a lance storm DVD if you did not want them to when you own the name?
A: They have marketing rights to everything I did there, so they can put out a DVD if they want. They would have to pay me royalties on it though. I’d love them too!!!!!

Q: who on raw & smackdown right now, that have never held the world title should get a shot in your mind?
A: RVD

Q: In steve Austins book he said that guys should be able to just go out & wrestle and not have it planned out ahead. Do you think that leads to better matches?
A: It can but doesn’t always. Some guys like to plan it all and other, like Steve, don’t. I prefer a balance of the two.

Q: Did ECW get enough credit for the impact it had on wrestling or has it grown to almost a mythical legend after it shut down?
A: It depends on whom you talk to. Some give it all the credit and others not enough. There are no official history books so it is all just opinion.

Q: your thoughts on tournaments in wrestling, like for titles etc, like them or not?
A: Like everything in wrestling they have their place, but are also missed used. It all depends on the situation.

Q: Your thoughts on Batista, can he be star for a long time?
A: it depends on what is considered a long time. He won’t have a 25 year career like Flair, that’s for sure. He has had a lot of injuries in a short period of time. I doubt he will have an extended impact on top. I like Dave and hope I’m wrong but he would need to do another 5-8 years on top for me to consider him a long standing top star.

Q: If you get hurt while wrestling for WWE who pays doctor bills? do you have to go to a WWE doctor?
A: If you get hurt on the job with WWE they have a plan to cover your medical costs. You are not obligated to go to specific Doctors, but those that they send you to are top notch.

Q: y Lance now that your on the road less how has the family reacted to having dear old dad around more? Also do you read Harlen Coben?
A: My family enjoys me being home as much as I enjoy being home. I’ve read one Coben, but wasn’t that big of a fan.

Q: How do you feel about the Insane Clown Posse's involvement in wrestling past & present? Did you ever wrestle them?
A: I never wrestled them, which was fine by me. I wasn’t a fan of their work.

Q: answer a question from the Q+A’s Finkel appears on the WWE website occasionally with “opinion” pieces, so he is still connected to the WWE.
A: Good to hear he is still around, thanks for the update.

Q: While learning how to Wrestle, were there any moves that you had trouble performing?
A: Not really. I took to everything pretty naturally. I didn’t need to try things much more than once to do them.

Q: And Also, If you remember, who were you facing in your first match? Do you remember any details?
A: My first match was with Chris Jericho. It was a 15 minutes time limit draw.

Q: How do wrestlers avoid disease during a match when both guys are bleeding massive amounts? Ive seen some WWE matches with guys bleeding insane amounts and dripping all onto the other guys face which is also bleeding.
A: The thing is if you are bleeding blood is flowing out of your cut. It is very difficult to them have something dripping on you flow up stream and enter your body. Go to a river where it feeds into a lake. Dump a package of red cool-aid in the lake near the river. Does the water up the river turn red? I’m not saying it is impossible but it’s unlikely.

Q: I heard you’re working the may IPW events in the uk and there will be an impact player reunion!!! How do you fell about tagging with PJ/Justin again.
A: I’ve always enjoyed working with Justin, so this should be very cool.

Q: I was just wondering your view on Test coming back?
A: Test was VERY out spoken when he left WWE, so it should be interesting. Perhaps he and Matt Hardy can tag up.

Q: I have always heard that for working at WrestleMania, the wrestlers get some sort of bonus? Is that true, and is the bonus a pretty large chunk of change or what?
A: This isn’t really accurate. In WWE we get paid accordingly to the business revenue we generate. WrestleMania generates a lot of money so everyone makes more for Mania than other shows.

Q: With the steroid controversy sweeping its way across professional sports, do you think wrestlers in WWE & TNA use them?
A: People in EVERY sport use steroids, including athletes in High School. I’m not saying everyone uses steroids, but a large percentage of people in all sports do. Steroids are EVERYWHERE, you would be surprised how many non-athletes use them as well, just to be bigger. Actors, models, you name it, hell I’ve known cops who use steroids. This is a HUGE problem that needs to be dealt with but everyone wants to bury their head in the sand and deny there is a problem.

Lance Storm