Beer Money interview: Bobby Roode and James Storm talk Impact Wrestling in the UK, NXT and social media

Both Bobby Roode and James Storm have been synonymous with Impact Wrestling for over a decade, and the duo reformed their successful Beer Money tag team earlier this month.

The veterans have consistently excelled in the ring as both singles competitors and in multi-man matches, while both are former TNA World Heavyweight Champions.

With Impact Wrestling set to embark on their annual UK tour, The Independent caught up with the freshly reunited pair to talk all about the grapple game.

First of all, welcome to England. How are you enjoying your time here so far?

Bobby Roode: It’s been good, really fun and very busy with the media. We’ve had a chance to stay in London and we’re looking forward to the start of the shows tomorrow night.

The wrestling industry is often closely guarded, so how do you both approach the wrestling media?

James Storm: I really enjoy the media side. It’s a two way street really because it’s a chance to promote not only the company, but your name as well.

BR: I agree, I’ve done UK media a couple of times now and it’s always been a pleasure. The media are very informed and up-to-date on our company and wrestling in general. There is nothing worse than sitting down for an interview and the person asking the questions has no clue.

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Hopefully this won’t be one of those occasions! The reformation of Beer Money has been celebrated by wrestling fans, but what was the reason for it occurring now?

BR: I think the timing was right, and after five years apart both James and I knew that Beer Money should be a team again. We were such a popular act when we first started in 2008 and we had great success, so it was just a matter of time before we got the band back together.

JS: No matter where we go in the ring we always hear the Beer Money chants and it’s something the fans can draw to, especially here in England because everyone loves beer and everyone wants more money!

James, you attracted a lot of interest recently when you turned down a deal with NXT in order to return to Impact Wrestling. Why did you make that choice?

JS: When I got the call to go down to NXT I found it was ran very well with Hunter at the helm. We were in talks for something more but it was one of those hard decisions I had to make. I just had to follow my heart, and when the idea of reforming Beer Money came along it made the decision easier.

Without wishing to get into specifics with the financial aspects of the deal, was this simply a case of Impact Wrestling offering you a better deal?

JS: I can’t say they offered a better deal because you don’t know what the future holds in NXT, the sky's the limit there. If anyone gets hot they can make millions of dollars, so the deal I chose was not really the better one, but instead it was a better opportunity for me.

Speaking of WWE, some of your former colleagues have now made the move to the company, including AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Austin Aries. Are you proud of them?

BR: Of course, at the end of the day wrestling is one big happy dysfunctional family. It doesn’t matter what company you work for, whether it’s Impact Wrestling, WWE, ROH, you shouldn’t want to wish anything bad to happen for any company or any person. The more wrestling companies that are out there, the more chance of people being able to support their families and live their dreams.

WWE is a different stage now and a different company. Austin Aries, AJ Styles and Samoa Joe are all super talented and all three of them have earned everything they’ve gotten. They’re going to continue to do their thing and we’re going to stay here and do our thing and hopefully both companies will become very successful and wrestling can catch fire again in 2016.

Impact has changed television channels in the United States to Pop TV, while it still airs in the UK on Challenge. How has the content changed following the switch in networks?

BR: You have to turn to a different channel…

JS: And you don’t get to see Bigfoot commercials!

BR: I don’t think the product has changed regardless of what channel we’re on. The talent we have always gives 100% every night and we go and do our jobs to the best of our capabilities. The Pop TV move has been positive because there is more viewership, so that’s a step in the right direction.

Since we started in January our ratings have increased by the week so it’s been a great move so far, and hopefully we can continue the momentum.

The UK tours often produce your biggest crowds of the year. Does it make a difference when you’re wrestling in front of thousands of passionate fans rather than some of the smaller crowds in the US?

JS: It makes a huge difference because when we’re in the ring we’re going off adrenaline and when the fans are out there raising hell it makes the pain that much less. A better atmosphere is created for everybody, whether it’s the people in the ring, watching in the arena or watching at home.

How has the wrestling industry changed most since Beer Money first formed in 2008?

JS: The whole social media stuff, I don’t think it was as big back then when we started.

While social media can be a positive in terms of promotion and advertising, there can be drawbacks as well. Have either of you found any?

BR: Obviously the negatives are the guys who put out spoilers. That type of thing is hard to deal with at certain times, but it’s the nature of the beast now and there is nothing you can do about it. Wrestling has pulled back the curtain over the past few years and social media allows it to be pulled back even more.

You have to go with the flow and you can’t help what people put out there. If you choose to read and believe it, that’s your choice. There is nothing we can do on our end, we just go out there and perform exactly the way we did back in 2008.

JS: One of the best things is the people who talk crap on twitter when they have about 15 followers and their profile picture is an egg.

Is there anybody on the Impact roster you’re looking forward to feuding with?

JS: I’d definitely like to get back in the ring with Bram and Eli Drake, and also try our luck with Abyss and Crazzy Steve who are doing the new Decay deal. But I think the one match everyone wants right now since we’ve got the briefcase is Beer Money vs The Wolves.

Finally, for anybody out there who hasn’t seen any of your career, what tag team and individual matches of your own would you recommend for people to watch

JS: As a team I would definitely have to say the Beer Money/Motor City Machine Guns Best of Five series. It’s hard to pick a favourite match out of them so I’d have to say the whole series. Individually, it would probably be Bound for Glory 2012 in Arizona when I wrestled Bobby.

No pressure Bobby but James has mentioned you in both of his answers...

BR: Yeah I would agree, the fifth and final match against the Motor City Machine Guns was probably the best tag team match I’ve ever been a part of. I just watched it back not too long ago and everybody in the arena was standing the entire time from the moment we walked out until the moment it was over. There was an electric feel in the arena.

And for a singles match, the match with James at Bound for Glory. We went out there and killed ourselves that night but it was well worth it.