One of the big Wrestling headlines to come out this week was the speculation of James Storm’s involvement in Aces and Eights. The A&8s storyline is one of the most intriguing angles TNA has got going for them in a long time. Since I rarely do TNA columns, I’ve decided to make this a James Storm edition of “Remember When?”

Do you remember when James Storm called his opponents Buckaroos?

This was during TNA’s inaugural year in existence. James Storm and Chris Harris had barely formed America’s Most Wanted (Which was an awesome Tag Team BTW) and they were still finding their groove, if you will. James Storm was really into the Cowboy character. From wearing the hat, wearing a poncho looking coat, to even carrying six shooters. That’s right, Storm carried guns to the ring. He was like the Smoking Gunns long lost brother. He would also make it a habit of calling everybody “Buckaroos”. It’s kind of like John Wayne calling everyone “Pilgrim”, I guess.

The initial run of AMW wasn’t too bad, in fact they were quite dominant. They would be undefeated all the way to their first Tag Team Title run. After some time together, they would find that groove, start wearing matching attire and go on to become one of the most recognized Tag Teams in recent memory. Also with time Storm would drop the Cowboy gimmick, although he would keep the name and go on to become the beer drinking, no nonsense, take no prisoners, redneck we all know and love (Sounds familiar).

Whenever I see James Storm back then, it always makes me think on how far he’s come since then and now. In terms of the Aces and Eights thing, it does kind of make sense because of the Cowboy in his nickname. But we’re just gonna have to wait until the next Impact to find out how this angle turns up. For the sake of supposing, however, let’s say it is James Storm that’s behind Aces and Eights. What do you think would be the reasoning behind it? What’s Storm’s motive(s) for having his gang take out guys like Aries, Mike Shaw, Hardy, Angle, Sting, Hogan, etc.?

Here’s a sample of James Storm’s Cowboy gimmick

As a bonus here’s a clip of Elix Skipper walking across the cage