The Ariel Helwani Show - Lance Storm

Episode Date: May 26, 2022

The retired Canadian professional wrestler joins the show for a wide-ranging conversation about his career in the ring, his work with WWE behind-the-scenes, and the entire pro wrestling industry as a whole. He and Ariel discuss: A tough ending to his time working with WWE during the pandemic (13:27) The state of professional wrestling (21:15) WWE's power structure (24:38) If Sasha Banks and Naomi leaving WWE is a work or shoot (27:21) Memories of his run with WCW (39:38) Plus, thoughts on Owen Hart and much more.We are presented by NordVPN.  Grab the NordVPN deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/ariel Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! For more from Lance, you can follow him on Twitter @LanceStorm.If you want to support our show, simply give "The Ariel Helwani Show" a 5-star rating on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Theme music: "Frantic" by The Lovely Feathers

Hey everyone, hope you're doing well. It is Thursday, May 26, 2022. Welcome back to a brand new edition of The Helwani Show. I, of course, am Ariel Helwani. Thank you so much to our good friends over at The Lovely Feathers for this great theme song. It is entitled Frantic. I can't wait for their reunion. It's going to be great. And I can't wait for today's episode. This is another one of those guests that I've wanted to talk to for quite some time. In fact, I've been a fan of his for over two decades. He's one of the greatest Canadian professional wrestlers of all time. And in many people's eyes, one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time,

certainly from a technical standpoint. His name is Lance Storm. Of course, you know of Lance Storm from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He was a mainstay in ECW for several years. He was one of their top stars. They went over to World Championship Wrestling, had a phenomenal run there. At one point held three titles at the same time and then moved over to WWF, then WWE, and actually was the first guy from WCW to quote-unquote invade WWF when that whole thing started in May of 2001. He debuted over 30 years ago in professional wrestling and was always, in my opinion, at least from what I read and what I would see, spoken of very highly,

was well regarded by his peers, and one of the first pro wrestlers in the late 90s to, in many respects, embrace the internet more so than others, he had his website, stormwrestling.com, that I would go to religiously. I loved stormwrestling.com and I would refresh it, hoping to read his takes on the various things going on in his career and in the world of pro wrestling. He was amazing at updating it and at letting us, you know, kind of see behind the curtain. And at that time, late 90s, early 2000s, wrestling was fascinating. So I had a great affinity for him, of course, loved the Canadian

guys as well. He had some ties to the Hart family. So there was all kinds of things that I loved about Lance Storm and got a chance to run into him once right before the pandemic, but never really had a serious conversation with him. And we finally had that opportunity today on the program. I loved every second of it, and I hope you will like it as well. So that's coming up in a matter of seconds. Before we get to my conversation with the great Lance Storm, who now, by the way, works as a producer for Impact Wrestling, following his brief stint as a producer with WWE right before the pandemic. I do want to tell you about my good friends over at NordVPN, because we love these guys, and I legit love these guys,

to steal a pro wrestling term. This is a shoot. I've actually used NordVPN, and I could vouch for them, because last summer when we went to Canada, when we went to Montreal to be specific, to see my family for the first time in well over a year, we had to quarantine and do all that stuff. We were in this remote location.

And I was worried that I couldn't watch my ESPN+. I couldn't watch the UFC events. I couldn't watch my Showtime. Couldn't watch Bellator. Couldn't watch the NBA finals that was going on on ESPN. I couldn't watch Space Jam that just came out on HBO Max. I couldn't watch boxing on DAZN. I was legit worried about this.

And then I stumbled upon NordVPN. Someone told me about them and it was amazing. With just one click, I was able to change my virtual location so that I didn't miss anything. I could log back into my ESPN+, my DAZN, my HBO Max, my Hulu, whatever. And it was like I was back home watching everything with no issues, no anxiety. And it worked flawlessly. Perfect stream, perfect quality, can't vouch for them enough. And so if you're, you know, anywhere in the world and you want to watch your favorite sporting event, you want to watch your favorite platform, you got to go to NordVPN.

All that trouble goes away. You can find a server near you for better speed or connect to a faraway location to freely explore the internet in just a couple clicks. NordVPN is the fastest VPN out there and you can watch your favorite events without interruption. You can use it on up to six devices at one time, even on your smart TV. I have done

this as well. And best of all, NordVPN lets you use the top streaming platforms at a lower price. So this is what you have to do. Grab your exclusive NordVPN deal by going to nordvpn.com slash Ariel to get a huge discount off your NordVPN plan plus free threat protection plus one additional month for free. It's completely risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee. Again, that's nordvpn.com slash Ariel. Please support them because they support us. All right, without further ado, here's my conversation with Canada's own Lance Storm. Like I said, I've been watching you for so many years. Massive admirer of yours.

You've represented Canada on the biggest stage, and I love that. But you were one of the first guys, at least for me as a fan, you know, 98, 99. I'm 16, 17, really getting into, you know, the Attitude Era and all that, who had an online presence, who allowed us to kind of see behind the curtain, so to speak. And I was wondering about the genesis of that. So it was the great Jeff Marrick who convinced you. And then it wasn't just like you were doing this, at least from my vantage point, begrudgingly. You really dove into this and the updates were very constant. It seemed like it was a real passion project for you, right? Yeah, I'm an all or nothing guy. I was doing off the record on TSN with Michael Landsberg,

and Jeff was his wrestling research guy whenever he had a wrestler on. And Jeff came, and we sat in the green room, and he was trying to convince me that this internet, this World Wide Web is something you should be on. And Live Audio wrestling had started theirs and they were doing, they wanted to launch wrestling websites and they had convinced Dynamite and I think Trish were on and he was trying to convince me to do it. And he managed to. And since I'm an all or nothing guy, it's like, okay, I'm doing this. And we had a weekly podcast that you could listen to if you had real player on your computer for those that are old enough to remember real player.

And I did like a 15, 20 minute podcast with Jeff every week. And I posted a weekly commentary. And again, I was religious with it every single week. I wrote an article about something and posted it on my website and it took off. It was great. I was wondering if you ever got, I don't know, in trouble or something. You spoke about stuff going, but I think I know Vince once actually pulled me aside and put over something I had wrote. Wow. And I assume someone pointed it out to him. I can't fathom that he had enough time to read my weekly column, but it was actually and my stance has changed since, but it was when Canada was debating on legalizing marijuana. And I'm like, we've got DUIs and everything. Although do we really need another means by which to impair people?

And it was at the time a anti legalizing pot commentary. And he pulled me aside and was, you know, super anti pot and good article. I really like a pal. Wow. And yeah. And I was just like, he read this and I'm assuming someone thought he would like it and suggested he read it. But I don't recall any.

Anyone that I know actually Bubba once and it wasn't. I had wrote something about something he had done in TNA and someone I think it was from the torch had a negative stance on his segment and used a portion of my article to back it up, but wrote it in a way that many of his points seem to be credited to me. And Bubba reached out to me privately to his credit with a dude. What the hell? It's like, I thought we were friends. This seems really unfair. And he sent me the link and I read it and I'm like,

I didn't say this. And I read the article. I just, I emailed her text or however he reached out back. And I'm like, read this carefully, dude. Here's the link to what I wrote.

This dude is misrepresenting it. And he just got back to me. He's like, all right, that's fair. My apologies. And it's like, I really credited Bubba for being someone that didn't just turn it into an online fight. Cause this was obviously probably in the two thousands where, you know, internet fights and pettiness could really take off. And he just reached out personally with, this is kind of unfair, isn't it? And I told him what I actually said. And he's like, oh, okay, that's fair. And then there was no heat. So credit to Bubba for being professional. Well, I'm happy that the site is still around. I just looked it up, although I don't think it

has been updated in several years, but it looks the exact same, the same layout and everything. It was changed once. Okay. Well, at least from what I remember. Yeah, because the Live Audio Wrestling guys designed it at first, and they were paying the server charges and all the hosting fees and stuff. And somewhere, I don't remember the year, emailed me with, we can no longer cover these costs.

You're going to have to. And take it over yourself. And I'm like, crap. And I think I reached out, there was a fan that I knew from the site that had a fan site for me. And I reached out to him with a, would you be interested in actually hosting the real one? Cause I don't have the ability to design a site. And I paid for the server hosting, whatever the heck you call it. And that fan designed the site for me.

So it had a very big layout change at that time. And actually that guy ended up later on coming to my school and as a student. Wow. Yeah, he reached out and wanted to train. And I'm like, I'll give you the 100% web designer discount. Yeah. Well, I had great memories in college of refresh. Anytime something big happened, you know, when the sale happened, WCW refreshing to see what your take was. Cause it was always unfiltered and honest. So I wanted to bring that up. That's how far back

I go. In fact, I think we've met once before in person i don't know if you remember this oh yeah okay i was backstage at raw right before the pandemic uh for some weird reason i still don't really understand why i was invited to go backstage and triple h was very very kind to me and showed me all around and you were there and i was very excited to meet you we spoke very briefly you were working as a producer. And then literally a week later, everything shuts down. And unfortunately, soon thereafter, you parted ways with WWE just months after joining. Could I ask you, so can we start there? Could I ask you about the time that you had in WWE?

And do you think if there, you know, some alternate universe, there is no pandemic, you're still with them a couple of years later? I would imagine I'd still be with them because I'm, again, I'm an all or nothing guy. And it's like, I made a commitment to go back there and do the job. I was doing the job. I think I was good at it. And for the most part, I enjoyed it. There was a lot of stress and things that annoyed me about the structure and the way it was, but with WWE,

and it was the same way as a wrestler, when you're on that treadmill of just getting the job done, getting the job done, getting that you never have a chance to sit back and reflect. And it's like, you just, you do the job. And it was the same thing when I was a wrestler, you just doing it.

And then when you actually leave the Ross, you sit back and go, why the hell was I doing that? Like it was so busy and so stressful, but I would imagine I'd have finished up. I think we're now at the point where I think I signed a three-year deal. Like I think I would, it would be expiring now. You'd be yeah. End of the year. Right. I think it was like November or something. Yeah. I, I, you know, I started 1st of December 99. So yeah, I'd be, I guess, debating on whether I, I re-sign up or not. Did you enjoy it? For the most part? Yes. Again, reflecting back, there's a lot of the, the structure and let's call it nonsense that I,

in hindsight, find frustrating, especially now that I'm with impact and have a different view on how some aspects of the job can be done. But on the whole, like I've always liked the people there. I've always got along with them. Like you always hear horror stories about Johnny Ace, but it's like, I've known Johnny Ace since God,

I think I first talked to him the end of 94 about going to All Japan with Chris Candido after Smoky Mountain. And we debuted in WCW together. So we've always worked together and I've always got along with him. And the talent was great to work with and the producers were good. So I probably would have stayed and enjoyed it because there was a lot of great people. At that point, it had been several years since you worked for them, since you competed for them, who was the one that convinced you to come back or at least reached out to you and offered you this? I reached out to them. Really? I had decided it was time to shut my school down.

Why? I'm a very hands-on trainer and it was becoming physically too demanding for me because I have to be the one in the ring with everybody doing things. And I believe one of the big aspects of my, the appeal of my school was that I have a match with every student that comes through my door, provided they make it to the end. It's like you wrestle with Lance storm when you come to storm wrestling Academy. And that was becoming more physically demanding. So I was like, okay, I think I need to wrap this up. So I reached out to, I think it was William Regal first, just with, I'm curious if there'd be interest, what my options might be, I'm looking at shutting the school down. And he put me in touch with Johnny Ace and Johnny Ace. Again, I think he reached out to Johnny and Johnny immediately called me back and basically offered me a gig. Wow.

And it was funny because it was, I think, the beginning of the summer, end of the spring when I was looking at, you know planning ahead, because I've got, you know, sessions booked to the end of 2019. I figured, well, I could maybe look into starting in 2020. And Johnny, you know, basically calls back, makes me an offer. I'm like, oh, that sounds really good. He's like, all right, well, you can start next week. And I'm like, hang on, John, I have another, I can't, and I was wanting to start January 1st. My session ended the end of November. I'm like, I'd't, and I was wanting to start January 1st. My session ended the end of November. I'm like, I'd like to have a month to chill. Yeah. And he's like, no, we need to get you started right away.

So it was literally, I shut the school down on a Friday and flew out on Sunday to do my first raw on a Monday. Wow. And it was, it was that fast. Yeah. And when you were let go, did they say, this is just temporary, this is a furlough, you'll be back? What was said to you? Well, we had a town hall meeting where you get, I think it was an email that just said,

everybody can sign into this virtual meeting. And Vince had the, there's the pandemic, we're shutting down. There will be some people furloughed and people let go. You'll get an email. If you're one of those that are getting let go. And then I didn't get one. And I thought for sure, cause I had already told Johnny, I can't cross the border. Right. I have to stay home and I didn't get an email. And then I think it was the next day I got a phone call from John. And I really appreciate the fact that he gave me a phone call. And it was, again, I was in a bit of a different situation in that other producers were just hired. I had to get a

contract. I had to get a visa. So I had a different situation than them. And he was, we're going to furlough slash let you go. There really is no difference. But because of my contract, I had to be fired so that the contract had to be terminated because otherwise they legally have to pay me. But because of that, I was really fortunate. I had a 90 day. So, you know, I stayed home. I think March 20th was my last trip. It was in April that this decision was made. And then I had another three months of being paid. So I ended up, you know, sitting home, I think, for four months getting paid at least.

But Johnny did say, you know, when things get better, we hope to bring you back. But who knows? And at that point in time, I started, you know, figuring that I was done, you know, we'll start afresh if, if things settle down. And by the time things settled down, I was looking for something else. When things kind of got back a little bit to normal in this world, um, and they were back on the road, did you reach out to them before the impact deal came through? No, no. Um, I had talked to Scott and Don. I think Don was still with impact when I first started talking with them

and started having the, when I'm comfortable traveling again, I do want to go back to work. And I had done a couple of producer gigs for impact more as a, as a favor to Don. I went in and did a guest ref thing for rebellion in Toronto, the John Morris, John Morrison, Johnny impact versus Brian cage match title match so i had done i think two or three you know toronto and windsor tapings as a producer for them so i had a degree of experience with impact and it's like i just liked it better and when i reached out to wb the first time was at that time. So I talked to Don about what they would offer and they were interested, but WWE came back with a really good offer. And my wife was interested in the safer offer with the security of WWE. So I just went to WWE. And the irony is that if I had went to impact, I wouldn't have gotten fired. So Impact was the more secure spot.

But at that point, I realized, and I even, I think I did an interview and mentioned this, but I know I said it to Scott. I think this is my chance to make the decision I should have made in the first place. I enjoyed myself so much better in Impact. I found the atmosphere more enjoyable and more relaxed. And so when it was looking time, I reached out to Scott and he made me an offer and I'm like, this sounds really good. I want to go where I want to go, not where I think I should go. And I've been loving it so far. And specifically your role is backstage producer. Mainly. I've been loving it so far. And specifically your role as backstage producer. Mainly I consider producer coach in that I had offered to Scott that again,

I was, I was doing virtual training via zoom coaching as, as a, you know, a side gig during the pandemic. And the wrestlers that I was doing it with really found value in it. And I found it really rewarding. So I offered to provide that type of coaching as well. So when I'm at the shows, I'm a producer, but I also watch every show back every match back and offer coaching feedback to the talent after the fact. And again, many have found it really rewarding. And I think it's something I realized even just when I opened my school that again, it goes back to that treadmill. When you're just working all the time,

you never have a chance to just sit back and watch what you did and fix the little things that you know you should if you actually had time to think about it. And I'm that third set of eyes that can sit back and go, hey, you really could have paused here and got a better reaction. The fact that you went this way, it really cut down on your reaction. This might make more sense. So I watch the matches, make my notes, and then send them to the talent and it gives them a chance to reflect a bit. And I think on the whole, over time, it'll improve everyone's work because that's something that I noticed when I opened my school. It's like, you look back on your stuff and it's like, there's a lot of little mistakes. I don't

know if mistakes the right word, but things that you could do so much better if you weren't so busy with the next booking, the next booking, the next book. And it I'm, so I'm producer coach for lack of a different term. How do you feel about the state right now of pro wrestling? AW is doing their thing. WWE is doing their thing. And I'd love to ask you specifically about them as well, but impact enjoying somewhat of a Renaissance. I think, you know, I think some people thought they were dead at one point. Now here they are with a new ownership group and there's obviously the international scene as well. How do you feel about the current state of the business? It's both great and frustrating, I think, in that there's so much of it which is what i like least about the business

currently is there's just so much product and i don't think it's just wrestling i think entertainment in general whatever it is we have our fan base let's give them as much as they'll take and get as much back from them financially as we can, that like there's so much WWE product and there's a lot of a W product and there's a lot of wrestling product. Like if you wanted to watch all of WWE, it's like, you've got your what seven account NXT seven hours a week plus specials.

Plus, you know, if you actually wanted to watch main event, which still exists. That's so much. And AEW, you've got your three hours, but if you want to watch dark and elevation, it's like, that's got to be what, seven, eight hours a week. And being a fan of anything is just so damn time consuming now. And I think that's why, and it's a real shame because I think impact's product is really good and its biggest hurdle is not enough eyeballs. And you, you know, if you watch the show, the biggest detriment to the show is we don't have the big, large, lively crowds, but it's like the product itself is really good. And I think we are a victim of so much content that, you know, if you're a wrestling fan, obviously,

you know, WWE is the McDonald's of the wrestling business. And it's like, everybody knows about that and watches it. And it's like, then there's all those people that, again, if you want to say, you know, AEW is Burger King, just to make an analogy, someone will probably take offense to that. And it's like, that's a lot of more content. And it's like, we're that third or fourth, depending on whether you want to count new Japan or Mexico or whatever. And it's, it's just hard to get eyeballs and it's, it's a shame. And I remember as a fan, you're probably the same.

I'm older than you, but you're not 21. It was, I want more, I want more. Where can I find more? Because two hours of squash matches on Saturday has not fulfilled my desire, and now it's like you've got a 27-course meal, and it's like I'm full, even though there's a really good meal coming it's like, I'm full, even

though there's a really good meal coming again. And so I think that's frustrating. But for accessibility and variety as a fan, if you're willing to pick, and maybe that again goes back to my all or nothing mentality. If you're willing to just pick the part that you like the best, it's like, there's a hell of a smorgasbord here. Too much of a good thing isn't always a good thing. I remember Maple Leaf Wrestling back in the day, and that was a great one-hour appetizer, but then you're starving for more now. It's just almost 24 hours a day. You have one of the best minds,

the website introduced me to this. I'd love to get your take on two particular thing. What do you make of what is going on at WWE? Triple H less involved now, Stephanie taking a leave of absence. It feels like something is going on there, right? And I'd love to know what you make of it all. I, again, I'm guessing. Yeah, I'm just, I wouldn't be surprised with, with Stefan Hunter that they're falling victims to the all or nothing mentality. And when you're in WWE, man, you're in WWE. And, you know, it's it's a 24 seven lifestyle and he's got a family that he's got to try to, you know, be a part of as well

that, you know, he rode that until he almost physically broke, you know, he, he had the hard issue and had to go, I'm, I gotta stop. And maybe stopping and him realize that maybe 24 seven at work isn't the best thing for us. And, you know, I, I believe Hunter is coming back and doing more and maybe Steph decided, you know what Hunter had, however long he had off. I don't know what it was like. Maybe she's like, I need that too. And, you know, we've seen it, you know, when Jericho just, you know, ages seen it you know when jericho just you know ages ago went i gotta get the hell out of here and he left for two years and when he came back he was so rejuvenated and with anyone

you know serena d blessed wrestling business became a coach for a while and she goes back she's freaking awesome and i think that you know, Shawn Michaels, when he left for however many years and came back, he was so much better. I think there's something to taking a step back and realizing that you can't stay on that treadmill forever. Vince seems to be the only one that can do it. But, you know, Vince, Vince is like PCO. He isn't human so you don't buy into this whole like political struggle and they're losing out on that battle behind the scenes it's being sold there's any of that stuff i don't have enough knowledge to have an opinion

on that like it's possible but you know it's like i don't see anyone that could take over Vince's job better than the hunter. Like, you know, you can use the NXT experiment if you will, but it's like, if Vince was given the NXT experience, I think he would have fared less successfully than a hunter did. Uh,

the Sasha Naomi story. Is this a worker shoot? I believe it's a shoot. I just don't think we have the real story like i can't fathom this being strictly over the creative of they were going to have a singles program and they want to be in a tag team like just, isn't enough for me to believe that they walked out over that. Like maybe there was a dispute over that, that led to other frustrations that, you know, was the straw that broke the camel's back, but I just can't fathom. We don't want to do this six person match and then singles programs, the next pay-per-view we're leaving.

Like, I just don't buy that. You know, I, I know Sasha a little bit. I don't really know Naomi, but it's like, that's just way too irrational to me.

So there, there has to be something more. And until I know what that more is, I can't really pass judgment on it, but I don't believe for a second it's a work. Just as a viewer and knowing how the business works, how do you feel about how they are handling it? The thing that Michael Cole said on Friday, he's getting some heat for that, calling them unprofessional and letting people, just the way it's reminiscent, at least to me. And I think you were there at the time

when Stone Cold didn't want to lose to Brock and they said he took his ball and went home. It's reminiscent. I wouldn't dare compare, with all due respect to Sasha and Naomi, compare them to Stone Cold, but it feels the same where they're kind of peeling back the curtain a little bit and telling you this person did something that we didn't like, and thus we are punishing them for it. Yeah. It's, it's reminiscent of it,

but like I, I specifically watched SmackDown to, to see the Cole announcement. And it's like, it didn't seem that harsh to me. And it's something that I think could very easily be turned into an angle in a program if and when this gets worked out. Like WWE as a company has been the heel that badmouths talent forever, just as an on-camera storyline. You know what I mean? It's like, you know vince has been a heel in the austin

theory program sonja deville's been a heel so the fact that wb television said they're unprofessional it's like well they can come back and be heels and say yeah we didn't care about the fans if they want to or they can come back and say, we weren't unprofessional. The company was in feud with Sonya if they want. Like there's so many ways they can go. And I think fans are smart enough now that they're going to have their opinions. Like there's a really large Sasha Banks fan base. This is going to cheer Sasha no matter what WWE says.

And to be perfectly honest, you know, I think she would be, again, probably not quite at that level, but she's in that Brian Danielson category, Daniel Bryan, I guess, in WWE that they can call her a B-plus player and unprofessional all they want. Crowd's going to be rabid for Sasha because they love Sasha. Do you remember anything from that time when Stone Cold left? Very vaguely. And I,

I believe, and again, it could be false memories at this point because it wasn't, you know, a super significant thing in my life. But I, I do think that the office for lack lack of a different term, really did try to convince all of us that this was Steve being selfish. You know what I mean?

And again, lesser at that point in time, but he was still the goose laying the golden eggs, so to speak, as far as a draw. So I believe there was a bit of, of you know we're all going to be hurt because steve decided to go home but i really believe that most of us agreed with him like not the walk-in taking his ball and going home but it's like they're gonna do a cold brock lesnar steve austin match it's like what and especially because that was the era where pay-per-view was the money where now it's like doesn't matter if the match is on pay-per-view or tv everybody makes the amount of money but it was like everyone thought that that was a ridiculous thing to book so I think you know everyone was in Steve's corner especially because everybody

liked Steve but again I, I, you know, Steve said it and I, and I agree. And that's where, if this was creative differences, I don't agree with him walking out. It's like, by all means, put your foot down if you don't like it, but stay at the table. Right. Um, going back a year and I'm sorry, if you've been asked these questions before, I've never had the chance to ask you them. And, uh, this is like the height of my, uh, fandom in college and whatnot. When you were told that you were going to be the first guy to quote unquote invade WWE, that you would kick this off. Do you remember what your reaction was?

And do you remember the circumstances around how you were told that you would have that honor? I remember it, but it didn't feel like a big deal to me at the time in that I knew moments before, practically. They were doing Raw in Calgary, and Johnny had called me and said, we've been flying all of the WCW talent to Stanford to meet you with Jim Rosh and sort of get a welcome to WB and talk about your contract and what you're doing and everything. And it's like, we have TV in Calgary in two weeks. We're not going to fly you to Connecticut. Just go to the show and talk to Jim. Okay. So I only went to the show thinking I'm talking to Jim. So I went to the show and I'm hanging out and I'm talking to everybody. And some point in time in the afternoon, Johnny come up and it's like, oh, hey, you brought your gear,

right? Because you're working tonight. And I thought he was kidding. I think he was like, yeah, screw you, Johnny. You know, good rib. And he's like, no, you are. And I still thought he was ribbing and walked away. And then later in the day, someone else who worked with WB was like, all right, you got your segment nights, you got your gear. We're going to do this. Right. And I'm like, what? He's like, yeah, you're running in tonight. And I'm like, oh crap. And I had to go to my car and get my bag. Cause I always have my, my gear with me. Thank God. And well, I could also, actually, I think I didn't have the gear they wanted because at the end of WCW,

I had black and red and they wanted the red and white. So I actually had to drive home and get the specific gear they wanted, but I'm like, you know, 20 minutes from the saddle. So I didn't have a lot of advanced notice. So it was again, like hopping on the treadmill when it's already at, you know, seven miles an hour, it's like crap. So it was just get it all done. And I remember, I don't know if nervous is the right word, but the local guy. Cause I hadn't wrestled in Calgary at that point since, you know, I don't know, long time before that. So I'm like, if they don't realize it's me and don't realize I'm the hometown guy, it's like, what if I get a flat reaction? If I get a flat reaction on my debut, I'm dead here. So I was really nervous. And I remember I had my gear on. I had to put like janitor coveralls on and then they snuck me up by the concession stands to stand there for a segment with two security guards hiding me. And then when it was time for me to run out to get the coveralls off and run in. And to my point that it was so quick, I had a buddy, he owned a gym here in town

that I trained at, and I got tickets for him and his wife and his two little kids. Actually, he might've had three or four at that point in time. He's got lots of kids and they were sitting on the floor and his kid dropped a toy, a soother or something. And he bent down to find it. He heard a really loud reaction and he looked up, didn't see anything and looked at his wife and said, what did I miss?

And she's like, you just missed Lance. Oh man. He's like, what? She's like, yeah, he just ran in and he missed it because he looked down.

So it was that fast. But thankfully the crowd popped like crazy and I was relieved. But yeah, I was concerned without the titanton and the name and the announcement that I might not be recognized. That whole time, that whole story felt

like a layup. Like it felt like there's no way that this could fail. Ultimately, I don't know if it actually lived up to expectations. In your opinion, when did the wheels fall off that one? Because an invade, I mean, this was like every fan's dream, right? WCW invades WWF. You got some of the recognizable faces. Obviously, the Goldbergs and Stings of the World weren't there just yet. But in your opinion, from your perspective, where did it all kind of take a left turn? I think the wheels completely fell off in, I guess it was Tacoma, not Seattle. But that Booker T, Buff Bagwell main event thing.

I think that was the wheels fell off. But I think even before that, you know, there was years of, you know, WCW or the NWA against WBF, that dream, you know, supercard invasion. And the first three were like me, Bill DeMott and Stacey Keebler. Like, really? Like I'd been there 10 months and was upper mid card. You know, Bill DeMott had been there a while, but he was mid card. Stacey had been there less time than me. She won a diva search.

I think when I was there, maybe before, but she wasn't there long and she wasn't an important figure. It's like, so right there, we're already half assing it for lack of a different term. So I think we were in the mud from the get-go. Like I got a good reaction because it was Calgary, but you know, if it was Flair or Bischoff or Sting or Goldberg, it's like the impact would have been significantly more, even Booker who they had, you know, if Booker was the first one, it would have been more. But that horrible, horrible main event. And it was presented poorly to her, too.

Like, I think Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler basically apologized for the segment before they pitched to it. But that, too, it's always an interesting interesting note and always joke about it with Jericho the week before that Tacoma show, because we were doing house show loops for them, Booker and buff did a house show loop and had bad matches. And the weekend before the Tacoma loop, I worked with Booker and had good matches. And Jericho told me that the production meeting on that Monday was a debate.

Do we go with Storm Booker or do we go with Bagwell Booker? And all of the producers and the people that knew wrestling went, we got to go with Storm. It's going to be so much better. And Vince apparently was the deciding voice with buff is the more established bigger name associated with wcw and they went with buff and buff didn't deliver i was not that long ago i watched it it's like you know he was blown up in a chin lock at like 90 seconds in and at that point in time and again i i believe it's been reported by you

know melzer and so forth that after that show was when vince panicked and changed direction so that was definitely the wheels are off the cart which i'm wondering which chapter of your career do you look back on with the greatest fondness ecw wcw or wwe because i feel like most people maybe revisionist history would come into play. I'd be like, Oh, WCW was a mess.

The, you know, the, the whole thing was kind of crumbling. Although I think that you were maybe one of the last great things that WCW did. I mean, they really got behind you and you really stepped up to the plate.

ECW is where you kind of burst onto the scene on a national stage. And then of course, WWE is, is the dream for everyone. But for you, is it possible that maybe you look back on the WCW run with the greatest fondness? I've always been a body of work guy. Like I don't like separating because every chapter, whether it be, and again, I would put my Japan chapter up in that top four, for sure.

I looked at all the chapters with great fondness, as well as some degree of frustration, because there's always things you could do better. But WCW was, I think that point where at least in fans eyes, I was established as, hey, this guy could actually like main event be a big star on the national level that, you know, that short brief push with the three titles that was just making so many waves and just like, Holy crap. And there was a lot of fans that were like, Oh, they should have put the world title on, which I don't agree with. Why not? But at that point in time, it's like, I've been in this company a month. What else is there to do? It's like, I wanted to be there for five, 10 years. And I

think too, it's like Booker was just really hitting his stride. It's like, we don't need to cut Booker's legs off here. And I'm also a person that believes the world title should be on the biggest star, best guy in your company. And whatever date that was, it's like, Bill Goldberg was a bigger star than me. Booker T was a bigger star than me. Scott Steiner was a bigger star than me. It's like, I'm not ready to be that guy here. Now I'd like to think I could have been at some point, but for me and the satisfaction for me, that match with Booker. Now, again, we got like, you know, six minutes in a stupid angle and it was, you know, Russo Riffick. But when I put Booker T in the half crab in that match, the crowd reacted like they were, they believed, they believed I was actually going to beat Booker T and hold every single championship in this company, including the world title.

And the fact that they reacted like, holy shit, this is going to happen to me was that justification. What's the word I'm looking for? Validation. Validation that this audience will accept me as a world champion. And so that was a real meaningful moment for me, even though, again, I didn't think I should be world champion. And, and again, I've had people, Oh, WWE should have, it's like, are you kidding me? That, you know, man, rock Austin, you know, Hunter taker Jericho. It's like, no, I should not have been world champion. But again, ECW was when I came into my own and actually became a performer.

I was a great wrestler before ECW. ECW is when I found a character, a personality, really found myself. So that is a chapter that means a lot to me. WCW, I think, validated me as a potential top star. And then WWE was the big platform. So in that regard, it too was rewarding. But I think I didn't actually grow significantly as a performer in WWE. Like there wasn't another milestone for me. So in that regard, it's not as rewarding.

I saw an interview with Eric Bischoff where he said that there was an idea that you would come in as his illegitimate son. Is that true? Was that brought to your attention? Yeah. The, the first meeting when I had, I flew down to Atlanta to meet with Eric and Vince Russo, because they were in charge at the time. That was the Russo-Bischoff regime.

Right. And I met with them at a hotel in Atlanta to negotiate potentially coming in. And I sat with Eric first and discussed contract and business. And once we'd, you know, basically hammered out a deal that he was going to send to the office to be approved, because he at that point wasn't allowed to approve money. So he had sent them and then Eric got up and Vince sat down because he was the creative end of it. And he's sitting there looking at me and he's like, you know, the first idea off the top of my head Eric got up and Vince sat down because he was the creative end of it. And he's sitting there looking at me and he's like, you know, the first idea off the top of my head, you know, you could come in and do run-ins and we're kind of wondering why you're,

you know, and it was to, you know, Eric would be in trouble, but I'd run in and save him. We wouldn't know. And he said, and it would turn out that you're Eric Bischoff's illegitimate son. He says, cause you have the same arrogant look on your face that he always has. And it's like, I haven't signed yet. And I'm like, the head of creative things have an arrogant look on your face that he always has. And it's like, I haven't signed yet. And I'm like the head of creative things have an arrogant look on my face. And I'm looking at Bischoff and he's looking at me. I'm like, okay.

And because I'm, I like stuff to make sense. And I always think of things. So as soon as I think my first thought is like, is Bischoff like 10 years older than me? It's like, how is he my dad? Yeah. And it turns out he's, he's more than 10 years older than me. I thought he was younger than he was. You know, he, I think he would have a kid at like 15, but it's, it's possible.

Right. So I'm just like, okay. And that was all that was said. And then I went to the office to actually, you know, get the contract to work out the details. And when I was home, I start coming with the backstory and how I can make this make sense. And I actually come up with one, but thankfully they flew me to a nitro before my debut, just to take promotional photos and stuff. And I was backstage and Eric just walked by and he just, you know, stopped me for a second. He says, just so you know, I, I kiboshed that illegitimate son thing. He says, that's a dead. He's like, I'm already involved in too many angles. I don't need to be in another one. And I'm like, great. But again, the idea in my head is like, I've got a wrestling career. I didn't just debut now. Right. How would this

not be known? So I come up with the idea that Eric, when he was a teenager, went to Banff, hooked up with a ski bunny once and left. And it was my mom. And he never knew she was even pregnant. And I never knew who my dad was. And it wasn't until I called my mom to say, hey, I've just signed with WCW. I've been hired by a new company. And she tuned in to watch Nitro for the first time and went, oh my God, that's the guy I hooked up with in BAMF. He's your father. So at least it wouldn't

contradict my entire wrestling career to that point and why in 2000, I've discovered that Eric Bischoff is my dad. I think the way it panned out was much better than that. Team Canada was great. Who came up by the way, with, if I could be serious for a minute, I don't know for sure, because it wasn't an idea of, Hey, this will be your thing. I won the U S title and they came up with the promo again, class. And again, it was probably Russo. Cause it's a swerve promo of come out and be all nice and talk about all the great people that have held this title. But if I can be serious for a minute, I deserve much better. And it was just a line. It was one sentence in a promo.

But when I came back through the curtain and again, I don't remember who it was, but I think there was more than one. Everybody says, oh, that was really great. We need to use that line every time now. And it was just someone had wrote it in the promo because I don't think I ad-libbed the line. I think it was written because I would always, they'd give me the promo and then I'd rewrite it and change it and make it my own voice. But I believe that line was written by someone and just everyone, we need to use that all the time. And then it just became my thing. It wasn't a conscious plan to make it my thing. I just want to ask you about a few more things. Are you a fan of the aid?

There's your, there's your pup. Hello. Is that Max? That's Max. Yeah. All right. Hello,

Max. Are you a fan of the AEW product? And if so, I'm just curious, have they exceeded your expectations in this short amount of time that they've been around? Like, you know,

they've, they've obviously developed a great fan base. They've signed all these big guys. Did you think that they would be where they're at? You know, when they, when they launched just a few years ago? I don't know if I speculated to have a, this is where I think they could go. I think it was just a, I hope this succeeds. So I don't know whether I had expectations. I am a fan of the product, like any product, not 100% of it. I don't think there's ever been a wrestling company I was 100% in support of,

but on the whole, I greatly like the product. It feels like even back when I was a fan, I liked the NWA WCW over WWE's product. I liked that it was presented a little bit more like a sport. And I liked the fact that it felt more like we're in an arena watching wrestling rather than a big, you know, three ring circus with the lights and the presentation. So, so AEW,

I think has always tried to be a little bit more reminiscent of the old, uh, product on TBS. So it appeals to me in that regard. And I've always liked wrestling. And that does seem to be the majority of the product. Like I've always been a CM Punk fan, a Brian Danielson fan. And I think too, even just the beginning, as someone who's seen so much wrestling, to be a part of so much wrestling, the fact that when it started, there were a lot of new faces, you know what I mean? That when a Dante Martin jumps out at you, you're like, holy crap, that's really cool.

And it's like, it has more refreshing moments like that where, you know, WWE has always sort of been that you got to earn your stripes here. And by the time someone gets to a featured position, we've seen them a billion times, not every case, but mostly where I find with AEW, you get a little bit more a surprise where, you know, there's the criticism of, you know, we saw Dante Martin with a bit of a push and he goes away. But you seem to always have someone who feels new and exciting. And then it also has, you know, a more serious wrestling product, which again, should surprise no one, a more serious wrestling product would appeal to me. So considering that, just wondering when you were kind of looking at the landscape, any conversations with them to go over there? Um, I reached out to Christopher Daniels and just said, hey, I'm interested in looking.

But again, the first time WB's offer came in quick and was really good and I took it. And this time I was leaning towards impact anyway, and they came back with an offer that I liked. So I never really talked to them. And this is too, where my family and my time with my family is really important because I don't want to be divorced. That when I first looked at landscape, it's like that going every week, especially when you live in Calgary, clearing customs, all the connections involved with living here, it's the worst place to live traveling wise for, for wrestling every week. It's like, well, if I go down, you know, even if I only work Wednesday, it's like, I have to leave

on Tuesday, work Wednesday, come home on Thursday. It's like, that's three days a week. I'm gone every week. That's, I don't know what the percentage is, but it's, you know, it's not too far below 50% of the time I'm gone. Impact usually every other week. And it's like, well, if I leave on Friday, show Saturday, Sunday, and then Monday, it's like, that's four days every two weeks. It's like, that's a lot lighter schedule. So it works better for where I am in my real life. And again, the experience I had when I worked with impact the first time, it's like, I liked everybody. I liked the atmosphere. There's a really great team atmosphere. And that to me is the real big difference maker that I noticed between when I was in WWE and not to bury WWE, they have the thing and live TV is different. But when you're sitting on headset in WWE,

it feels confrontational. And when you're sitting on headset in impact, it feels collaborative. You've got the director who's asking, you've got Josh who's doing, but it all feels like we're all trying our best. And if something happens that doesn't go as perfectly as you want, it feels like we're all just going to try to figure out how we can make it better next time, rather than feeling like you've been pointed out and chastised for something. And it's just atmosphere is, is so much more rewarding when

it feels collaborative than confrontational. And I think my entire career, it's like pro wrestling is collaborative. And when I worked with Jerry Lynn, it was always just collaborative. And there's people in wrestling when you work, it does feel confrontational because they're trying to get their shit in and they're, and it's like, it's never as enjoyable. And in impact, it just really feels like a collaborative effort, certainly different, but similar to ECW that it's like, we're just trying to move forward here and everybody's doing their best to do so. So when I had a chance to reflect on the respective atmospheres after having a cup of tea in both places and the difference in schedule, I'm like, you know what? It's like, I was really happy in Impact the short time I had. I'm just going to go back there and continue to be happy. Just curious, how do you feel about them kind of teaming up with Owen Hart's family,

where Owen Hart's legacy and his presence is not really felt anymore in WWE? And obviously, that's a very sticky situation. It's very sensitive. But them kind of being with AEW for this tournament, how do you feel about that? Do you feel good about it? Do you, I feel good about it. I have always since day one been in Martha Hart's camp. Okay. When fans get mad about, Oh, she's not letting them be in the hall of fame.

It's like, I don't care what you think you're a fan. She's a widow. It's like her opinion trumps everybody else. Everybody else needs to shut the hell up. I've always felt that. So the fact that fans now get to celebrate Owen a bit more, I think is awesome.

And since she's endorsing it and in favor of it, I think it's awesome. I just don't, I find fans were way too selfish wanting what they wanted over what the widow wanted. And I'm like, that's not how life works. It's like if I go to the hospital, my wife makes life altering decisions for me. That's just the way it works.

She's next in line. And when Owen passed away, it's like Martha is in charge here. We all need to respect Martha. And now that she's comfortable enough to allow Owen's name to be out there and used in wrestling, as long as she's happy, I'm happy. And the fact that we get to hear and say the name Owen Hart on a wrestling show, I think it's fantastic. Couldn't agree more. I'm happy we agree on that.

Just two last quick things. And I hate to end on somewhat of a sour note, but the last question won't be. One thing that I really appreciate about you, especially on your Instagram is, and it's not a great thing, but more often than not, in fact, just as an aside,

my first job in television, and you'll see where I'm going here. I worked at HBO Sports. I was an intern in 2003. I was a junior in college going on my senior year, and I was sitting in the intern room, and someone walked in, and they popped in a tape with pro wrestling on it.

And HBO didn't cover pro wrestling at all. So I was like, hey, why are you guys watching pro wrestling? And they said that they were doing a story. I don't know if you're familiar with the show Real Sports with Brian Gumbel, kind of like a 60 minutes of sports. They were doing a story on wrestlers dying young, and they were talking to Rowdy Piper, and they had a very famous interview with Vince McMahon where he hit Armin Katainen's papers out of his hands when he got off. Anyway, every time, so this has been, you know, and I got to work on the story. And so it was a really,

you know, rewarding experience. And every time it seems like someone who you worked with, who you knew, someone who was someone in the wrestling business passed away, you don't just post a picture of them on your Instagram. You write something very heartfelt going back to the website. And I'm just wondering, because you've been around the business for so long, was there ever a point where one of these tragedies occurred and you just said, I just don't want to be a part of this anymore? Did it ever affect you to the point where you really just wanted to? You've seen a lot of stuff, right? And it's been tough the last 20 years or so to the point where you wanted to walk away. Never walk away.

But there was definitely a period where my initial emotion was anger, not sadness, that it continues to happen. But I find writing those tribute commentaries, like on, they're almost a eulogy to an extent. I find them really therapeutic. Like it's a chance for me to let out all of that emotion. So if it's someone, especially that I had,

you know, interacted with really like a friendship or a bond with, it's like, especially that I had, you know, interacted with really like a friendship or a bond with, it's like, I almost have to, like, I need to let this out. And, and, and I've found early on that it's, it's really therapeutic for me to vent your grief or whatever. And it's turned into, I get, I only had to do it twice so far again, touch wood, but my mom who used to always read my website, it's like, she really thought that many of these were really good. So when my

grandfather passed, she's like, you need to do the eulogy. She says, I can't, she wouldn't get through it. And when my stepdad died, it's like, I was asked to do the eulogy and it's like, this is a lot of pressure. And thankfully, I think I did a really great job on both. My stepdad, man, I struggled and it was like the last minute that I hit the line. Okay, this is it. And I managed to do it. And I think it's just therapeutic. And I think because again, especially with many of the deaths being drug related, it's like,

it's both good and hard because I'm so not a part of that culture. And I was always the guy that wasn't a part of that. So I think that's where the anger comes from because I can't understand addiction and what some of these people go through, but it's my way of remembering it. I know there was one, I got a lot of flack for the balls Mahoney one, because I talked about how I didn't always, I didn't like working with him. We didn't really get along all that well. Cause he, he was just more outgoing and friendly than me. And people thought I was speaking ill of the dead. And I'm like, this is just my memory of the guy I knew. And it's like, this is how I honestly feel. And it's like, you're welcome to

feel how you want, but these are my true thoughts. And I try to be as true as I can with them. And hopefully I don't have to write as many of them anymore. Right. Yes. Well, I do. And I agree a hundred percent. Don't want to see them, but I appreciate them. Last one. And I feel like you're one of the best people to ask this question to. I do some work for BT Sport, which is the UK broadcaster for WWE. And around Mania time, they asked me to rank my favorite WrestleManias, top 10. And I put as number one, and it was a no-brainer. This was the easiest one, I put WrestleMania 4 as my favorite WrestleMania of all time because I loved the tournament, and it was also the event that made me fall in love with Bret Hart. Bret Hart, my favorite of all time. I adored him as a kid, my favorite athlete when I was growing up, a little kid.

I adored Bret Hart, right? So many Canadian kids. And as you may recall, he know, he was in that battle Royal and bad news Brown turns on him. And I felt something about that. And that's what made me fall in love with him and, you know, get emotionally invested in his story. You went to WrestleMania four, you were there, you went to four and five, you went on a road trip with your buddies and six. Wow. That's a, well, that one makes sense. Cause it was in Canada, but tremendous run for you. Am I wrong about four? Cause I thought it was great. I love the tournament.

It was fun. Well, you can't be wrong if it's your favorite. Sure. But people killed me for it. They killed me. They said, there's no way this was a horrible one.

I was probably one of those, but, but I think that's, that's typical of fans. It's like, it's the moment that grasps you. It's like, everybody thinks the wrestling they watched as a kid was the greatest

wrestling. Right. Because that that's but yeah like if you look at it with a brain rather than your heart like there's a lot of four minute shitty matches you know what i mean and again the fact that i went there you know hoping to see savage Steamboat 2, you know what I mean? And then you get Savage Greg Valentine or something. And it's just like, wow. So I think me personally, and I would have been older than you at that point. I thought it was like that.

Like, I loved five. Like, I remember leaving five thinking it's like, that might be better than three. And I loved five. But again, it's like that might be better than three and i loved five but again it's it's wrestling right it's whatever you fell in love with and why it doesn't have to technically be good if that's what you like but yeah i thought four was a lot of really short not particularly great matches but i again tournament the tournament was fun. Yeah. Like I was excited about it and I loved being there, but again, I remember being disappointed with a lot of matches where with five, I remember thinking there was a lot of really great matches. Is five your favorite

ever? I haven't even seen them all. You haven't. Wow. No, no, no. I haven't. I still haven't seen the Brock beat taker. I didn't want. I haven't watched that show. Really? Yeah. Again, busy. And the fact of going back, I started again to keep my commentaries going for a while. I started watching the old manias from one up, but it's like I got into the high 20s and then got busy again.

So that is amazing. Yeah. There's been a few that i haven't seen but um again to me the one that will always be special is three because that was again when i started to be a fan like i became a fan i think a smidgen before two but i didn't have a lot of access to it three was the one that i was a fan when the hype started coming and so it's like i was into that whole build where i think i saw like one saturday it made event and then i would have saw wrestlemania 2 so i was just starting to be a fan but three i was into the you know everybody and then the build and then three was just this iconic the 93 173. And the fact that you remember the number, even though it's BS, but it's the number that will stick in your head. And it also kills me as a fan that had I thought it possible to go, I could have went.

You know what I mean? We went so much further for four when we could have actually went to three. Well, I could pepper you with questions all day. We'll leave it at that. I also have always appreciated that you're somewhat of an MMA fan as well. Proving that, you know, you could be a fan of both and that both worlds can come together in harmony. It's funny that you mentioned that because I started following MMA regularly with when Brock was there.

And then when it was like one show a month, it's like, I'm watching this. And I was a full-time MMA fan, the first true sport I was ever a fan of. And then they just started getting too many shows and too many shows. And I stopped watching because it got to the point where if I'm watching a show every single weekend, I don't see my wife that much. And I stopped being a fan. Well, sitting up in my room in isolation for a week, recovering from COVID, I ended up scrolling through Facebook and realizing that I'm stopping and watching all the MMA fights. Really? I watched so much MMA. Wow. Because I got nothing to do, right? I'm in isolation. I can't spend time with my wife. I don't want to give her COVID. And I realized how much I actually enjoy watching MMA.

And I really kind of missed it. Wow. Anything in particular, catch your eye, any fight fighter? Oh, I was watching older stuff. So I'm like, I'm watching, you know, Crow cop, you know, matches in pride. I'm watching, you know, some Anderson Silva fights. And it was just anything that I recognized a guy in particular and didn't remember the finish. Welcome back. Yeah. You're going to start watching again weekly? I'd love to have you. It's a lot.

It's seven hours every Saturday. Who has the time? I'm still trying to keep up with the wrestling shows because it's part of my job. I would like to, and I may try to sneak a few more of them in because I did really enjoy it. Well, maybe the pay-per-views once a month. There's another one coming up on June 11th, which is a solid one. So I would recommend perhaps starting with that. That's in Singapore. Again, Lance, longtime admirer of yours, big fan. Thank you for everything that you've done representing Canada, but just the website, the access, you've just been someone that was really, really easy to

root for over the years. And I'm really happy that you're back now with Impact. I know some people work there as well. And I think what you say about the family atmosphere and just how it's kind of like the little engine that could kind of meshes with your personality very well and what you're all about. So thank you for the time. All the best to you. Keep up the great work and hopefully we can do this again in the future and maybe talk about MMA when you're back fully in the

MMA world. Alright, sounds good, man. Thank you. Alright, that was great. Like I said, I could have peppered him with questions for hours. Love the way he thinks of the business. Love the way he speaks of the business. Love his passion for the business. I also love little things that he's always, he's just so detail-oriented.

You know, like you said, when he does something, he goes all in. Even his background, it was just a little better than other people's background on the Zoom. He had a panoramic photo because he felt like there was a little more depth as opposed to just having a static photo. That's the kind of detail that I can appreciate. So much respect to Lance Storm, much respect to stormwrestling.com. And it's great to see him back involved in the wrestling business. He's with Impact and Impact is doing some nice things. They don't get the same kind of attention that WWE or AEW gets, but there's a lot of great talent there and they seem to be enjoying a bit of a renaissance. So having a guy like Lance Storm would, I think, be great in their effort to really cement

their spot as the number three biggest promotion in the world. Love talking to him about his WCW days, ECW, the early WWE days, and just the business in general. Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. If you want to watch the interview, go to youtube.com slash Ariel Helwani. All our interviews are up there. We've got last week's great chat with John Feliciano. Prior to that, Jeremy Schaap. We've talked to Dan Levitard and Michelle Beadle and Pat McAfee and AJ Hawk, Daniel, Daniel Ricardo, Kendra Lust, so many names. It's

been a really fun time doing this, and we're going to be back next week with a brand new conversation as well, and I'm really looking forward to that guest too. For now though, please subscribe to the YouTube channel. It really helps. It goes a long way, and if you're listening to us on a podcast platform slash device, please subscribe, comment, review, follow, whatever you need to do. All these little things, they tell me help us. And so I'd appreciate it if you can help us out. Thank you very much to NordVPN. We appreciate their support. Thank you to the production team. Thanks to all of you. I love you all. If you have a Memorial Day weekend coming up. Much respect to everyone out there. And most importantly,

thank you very much to the great Lance Storm. If I could be serious for a minute, Lance Storm was an awesome guest. I loved it. I hope you did as well. All right, have a great weekend. I'll talk to you next week. Thank you.