That's a Wrap

August 13, 2007

You never say never in this business, but I’m pretty sure this past Saturday, I had what will be my last pro wrestling match. There is of course the possibility that I could “Terry Funk” myself and wrestling a few more times, at some point down the line, but as of this moment, I’m considering myself completely retired from in ring competition.

I’ve been doing fewer and fewer matches each year and after my serious throat injury in December I’ve been having less interest in performing. This past Saturday I got the chance to wrestle in my home town of North Bay, Ontario in front of most of my old friends and family, in the building I attended my very first live wrestling event at as a fan.

Apart from having another chance to wrestle my last match with Chris Jericho I can’t think of a more fitting way to end my career. With the exception of my brother all of my immediate family was there to watch the show, as were most of my old buddies from high school. Saturday night at Memorial Gardens in North Bay was not only a career finale but a family reunion and a high school reunion all rolled into one.

It was a truly great night for me and I had the time of my life. Everywhere I turned there were familiar faces I hadn’t seen in years. My old Volley Ball coach Al Tennyson was there. My buddy Denis Pollney who I went to WrestleMania IV, V, and VI with as a fan was there. He lives and works in Germany now and we hadn’t seen each other in 19 years. There was even a fan that flew in from Ireland to see the North Bay show, wanting to see me wrestle live before I retired. I can’t thank BSE Wrestling and everyone who attended the event that night enough for making this night so special for me.

The show itself was a lot of fun too. I think attendance was just over 700, which is likely the smallest shows I’ve worked in years but for a small town in Northern Ontario that’s pretty damn good. I remember SmackDown did a house show in North Bay 3 years ago and drew about 1100 so 700+ for BSE is pretty strong, and those 700 made a ton of noise and were a lot of fun to perform in front of.

I wrestled Robert Roode in the main event and had what felt like a strong performance. I hope everyone in attendance thought so too. Roode and I had never worked together before, but gelled together extremely well. I’ve been a big fan of Roode’s work since I first saw him in TNA and I was happy to find out I can still spot talent, because he was fantastic in the ring. I can’t thank him enough for the effort he put forth Saturday night. I think Saturday’s match will stand up as a match I can be proud to hang my tights up after.

If the match itself wasn’t enough the guys from BSE came to the ring after the match as, what I guess would be a show of respect, and gave me a very respectful send off. I shock hands with the entire locker room, and got one last ovation from the crowd. It made me feel a little bit old but it felt good and it felt like a proper close to a wonderful career. My wife and kids put up with a lot of hardship because of my life on the road and it was great to share the last chapter with them that night. You can never say never in this business, but I do hope I can make this one stick because it felt right. From this point on Lance Storm matches are going to be reserved for my students at Storm Wrestling Academy.

My thanks to everyone who either booed or cheered me over the last 17 years.
Lance Storm

StormWrestling.com - Commentary

You may want to drop Lance a note and thank him for all the years of enjoying his wrestling.  I especially loved his ring work in ECW.  (Impact Players)

email Lance:  [email protected]