While appearing on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, former TNA star James Storm opened up about why he ultimately never signed a contract with WWE NXT, despite being offered a deal. The former Impact World Champion revealed that although the opportunity was real and exciting, it came down to a combination of personal sacrifice, family priorities, and contract changes that made him walk away from what many might consider a dream job.

Storm recalled being contacted by William Regal shortly after his brief NXT appearance in 2015. Regal made it clear that WWE was eager to sign him, and Storm was initially ready to move forward.

“They gave me a contract, I went home and I got a call from [William] Regal. He goes, ‘Hey, we definitely want to sign you.’ I was like, Oh, great. So I was going to sign the contract and all that stuff, and then he asked me, ‘Can you tighten up a little bit? Lose a little weight?’ I was like, Yeah. I busted my ass and I lost 20 pounds. I got in really good shape when I got back down there. Everybody’s like, Oh, my God, you look totally different. Because I always tell people, you give a man motivation, he’ll work his ass off.”

Despite making the requested changes and getting into peak shape, Storm said the terms of the contract changed by the time he returned.

“When I got down there, the contract had changed. They added 25 more dates, but the money did not move. I even told him TNA had offered me another contract to come back because they heard about me wanting to sign with WWE. I said, ‘Look, this is what TNA is offering me. I’m not trying to hold this over your head at all, because you don’t have to match this at all. I’m just saying this is what I’m willing to give up to come and work for this, but it has to be right.’”

At the same time, Storm’s personal life was taking priority. His wife was trying to have another child and required fertility treatments. The travel schedule WWE offered did not leave room for him to be present for his family.

“We came to an agreement, and she was like, ‘Well, if they can just give you this, then you have my blessing to sign.’ Hunter [Triple H] is like, ‘I just can’t do it.’ I was just like, ‘All right, well, I’m sorry, my wife gave me permission not to sign, so I’m going home.’”

Just days later, Storm was contacted by WWE’s Canyon Ceman, who told him Triple H wanted to speak directly with him again.

“He goes, ‘Hey, man. Paul wants to know if he can call you.’ I was like, ‘What? Hunter?’ He goes yeah. I go, ‘He has my phone number. I just talked to him not too long ago.’ He goes, ‘Well, since you’re not signed, we had to go through the proper channels, and I had to make sure, you’re on a recorded line.’ I was like, whatever, yeah, he can call me.”

Storm said Triple H told him he would not stay in NXT long because Vince McMahon liked characters and Storm already knew how to work, indicating a quick move to the main roster. Still, the financial terms never changed.

“He’s like, ‘Look, you’re not gonna be here long, because Vince loves characters and you know how to work, so you’ll probably be shipped off real quick.’ I was like, ‘Well, can you give what I was asking?’ And like I said, it was not much at all, and he’s like, ‘No, I just do not have the authority to do that.’ I was like, ‘I’m sorry, man. I’m gonna have to say no.’”

He described the decision as extremely difficult and questioned it at the time, but years later, he believes it was the right move.

“That was the hardest phone call I think I have ever had to get off the phone with a man. Usually I just hang up the phone. I was like, oh, man. Am I making the right decision? But in hindsight, I did not know at the time, but it was the right decision for me and my family at that time, because I was able to have my son that is eight years old now, and everything. So I cannot imagine what if I would have taken that.”