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Lance Storm
Storm in the ring at an independent wrestling show in 2013.
Birth name	Lance Timothy Evers[1]
Born	(1969-04-03) April 3, 1969 (age 49)[2] Sarnia, Ontario, Canada[3]
Residence	Calgary, Alberta, Canada[2]
Alma mater	Wilfrid Laurier University
Spouse(s)	Tina Evers (m. 1987)
Children	2
Website	stormwrestling.com
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	The Ideal Canadian[2] Lance Storm[2] Lance T. Storm[3] The SWA Kid[4]
Billed height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[5]
Billed weight	231 lb (105 kg)[5]
Billed from	Calgary, Alberta, Canada[5]
Trained by	Ed Langley Stu Hart[6]
Debut	October 2, 1990[2]

Lance Timothy Evers^[1][6] (born April 3, 1969), known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a Canadian professional wrestler.^[2] He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). After retiring from full-time wrestling, he began running a professional wrestling school, the Storm Wrestling Academy, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.^[7][8]

Professional wrestling career

Training and independent circuit (1990–1996)

Lance Storm was trained by Ed Langley and Brad Young of the Hart Brothers Wrestling Camp at the Silver Dollar Action Centre in Calgary, where he became friends with fellow student Chris Jericho.^[9] Jericho has stated that despite the name of the school, the only involvement any of the Hart brothers had in their training was a "thirty-minute cameo" by Keith Hart to collect the student's fees.^[9] Lance would later debut against Jericho in 1990 as Lance T. Storm.^[3][10] Early on, he mainly wrestled in Calgary but also spent time in Japan in Wrestling Association "R". Along with Jericho, Storm debuted in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) in 1994, forming a tag team known as the Thrillseekers. After Jericho was injured, Storm continued to compete in singles competition for a few months, even winning the "Beat the Champ" TV Title.^[11] He then left SMW and moved on to a Winnipeg-based West Four Wrestling Alliance, where he teamed once again with Jericho. In 1995, he began wrestling in Japan for WAR. He form championship teams with Yuji Yasuraoka (with whom he held the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship numerous times), as well as forming a trio Nobutaka Araya and Koki Kitahara, with whom he held the WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

Teaming and feuding with Chris Candido (1997–1998)

In 1997, Storm joined Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), making his debut at Crossing the Line Again against Balls Mahoney. Early in his ECW career, he took part in a match against Rob Van Dam at Barely Legal where he was booed by the crowd for two visibly "weak" chair shots to Van Dam. at Heat Wave, Storm faced Taz for the ECW World Television Championship but failed to win the title, He made a name for himself by becoming a villain and teaming with Chris Candido, and at November to Remember 1997, Storm and Candido defeated Tommy Rogers and Jerry Lynn, after losing the titles to Sabu and Rob Van Dam the team broke up and a feud between the two ensued, at CyberSlam 1998, Storm defeated Chris Candido, at Living Dangerously 1998, Storm and Al Snow defeated Shane Douglas and Chris Candido, at Wrestlepalooza, Storm and Candido defeated The Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks (Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten) to retain the ECW World Tag Team Championship, after losing the titles to Sabu and Rob Van Dam, Storm introduced his valet Tammy Lynn Bytch, a parody of Candido's real life girlfriend Tammy Lynn Sytch, who appeared in ECW to side with Candido and feuded with Bytch. at November to Remember 1998, Storm defeated Jerry Lynn with Mikey Whipwreck as Special Guest Referee.

Impact Players (1999–2000)

Following his feud with Candido, Storm formed a tag team with his trainee Justin Credible, named The Impact Players. at Living Dangerously 1999, The Impact Players faced Tommy Dreamer and Shane Douglas in a losing effort, The stable joined Storm and his valet (now renamed Dawn Marie) with Credible and his manager Jason. They first feuded with Jerry Lynn and Sabu in singles matches and by late 1999, they had begun a violent feud with Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman. The team brutalized many singles stars during this period as well. at Hardcore Heaven 1999, Storm defeated Tommy Dreamer, at Heat Wave 1999, The Impact Players faced Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn in a losing effort, at Anarchy Rulz 1999, Storm defeated Jerry Lynn, at November to Remember 1999, The Impact Players and Rhino defeated Raven, Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman in the night's main event, at Guilty as Charged 2000, The Impact Players defeated Tommy Dreamer and Raven for their first of two World Tag Team Championship reigns.^[12] after losing the titles to Tommy Dreamer and Masato Tanaka they won them back at Living Dangerously 2000 where The Impact Players defeated Raven and Mike Awesome and Tommy Dreamer and Masato Tanaka in a Three-Way Dance, however they lost the titles to Tommy Dreamer and Masato Tanaka on February 26, 2000. During this time, Storm also gained a position as a booker in ECW and had a hand in much of the product content on television and pay-per-view.^[10] at Hardcore Heaven 2000, Storm challenged his former tag team partner Justin Credible for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship but failed to win the title. After the company began to suffer financial hardships, Storm left ECW for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in order to support his family.^[10]

Storm in 2001.

World Championship Wrestling (2000–2001)

Storm left ECW in 2000 to join WCW, where he became a singles wrestler. He made his first appearance on the June 19, 2000 episode of Nitro and quickly became one of WCW's most prominent stars, winning the United States Heavyweight Championship,^[13] the Cruiserweight Championship,^[14] and the Hardcore Championship^[5] in rapid succession, resulting in Storm becoming the first and only wrestler in WCW history to hold three titles simultaneously.^[10] As an affront to the fans, he renamed the titles to the Canadian Heavyweight Championship,^[3] 100 kg and Under Championship,^[3] and Saskatchewan Hardcore International Title (S.H.I.T.),^[3] respectively, complete with large Canadian flag stickers that covered the belts' faceplates.^[3] Storm then formed the group called Team Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada during New Blood Rising on August 13, 2000, where he defended the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship in a match with Mike Awesome. The match was refereed by the Canadian Jacques Rougeau, who enabled Storm to defeat Awesome and retain his title by constantly changing the rules. Following the match, the semi-Canadian retired wrestler Bret Hart came to the ring and hugged Storm and Rougeau. At Fall Brawl 2000, Storm defeated General Rection (with Jim Duggan as the referee, with Duggan turning on M.I.A and joining Team Canada. He also attempted to win the World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by champion Booker T on each occasion. Storm eventually awarded the Cruiserweight/100 kg and Hardcore/S.H.I.T. Titles by presenting them to his Team Canada stablemates Elix Skipper and Carl Ouellet, respectively. at Halloween Havoc 2000, Storm and Jim Duggan lost to General Rection in a Handicap match losing the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship and to free Major Gunns from Team Canada, on the November 13, 2000 edition of Nitro, Storm defeated General Rection to win the US title back. At Mayhem 2000, General Rection defeated Storm losing the title once again, at Starrcade 2000, Storm defeated Ernest Miller,

Storm's stable Team Canada feuded with General Rection's stable, the Misfits In Action, for several months. at Sin, Team Canada (Lance Storm, Mike Awesome and Elix Skipper) (with Major Gunns) defeated The Filthy Animals (Konnan, Rey Mysterio, Jr. and Billy Kidman) (with Tygress) in a Penalty Box match with Jim Duggan as special guest referee, In particular, Storm and Rection feuded with each other over Storm's "Canadian" Heavyweight Title, which Rection finally won and promptly returned to the United States Heavyweight Title name. At SuperBrawl Revenge, Storm faced The Cat where he lost and The Cat became the new Commissioner of WCW. at WCW's final PPV Greed, Team Canada (Lance Storm and Mike Awesome) defeated Konnan and Hugh Morrus. The pay-per-view event took place eight days before the final episode of Monday Nitro and three days before the final episode of Thunder. on the final WCW Nitro, Team Canada (Lance Storm and Mike Awesome) challenged for the WCW World Tag Team Championship against Sean O'Haire and Chuck Palumbo but failed to win the titles.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

The Alliance (2001–2002)

When WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 2001, Storm's contract was kept and he became a WWF employee.^[10] Storm, portrayed as a serious, humourless heel, was in The Alliance and was the first WCW superstar to ever invade a WWF program, where he debuted on the May 28, 2001 episode of Raw.^[10] At WWF Invasion, Storm and Mike Awesome faced Edge and Christian in a losing effort, Storm received a modest push during the Invasion angle, as he would go on to win the Intercontinental Championship^[15] from Albert on the July 23 episode of Raw. He lost the title a month later to Edge at SummerSlam, Storm formed a tag team with The Hurricane and feuded with the Hardy Boyz over the WWF and WCW Tag Team Titles for the next few months; at Unforgiven, Storm and The Hurricane competed in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match for the WWF Tag Team Championship but failed to win the tag tiles, this included a match at No Mercy, which Storm's team lost. Eventually, at Rebellion, Storm and Justin Credible faced Billy and Chuck in a losing effort. At Survivor Series, Storm, Justin Credible, and Raven defeated Albert, Scotty 2 Hotty, and Spike Dudley in a six-man tag team match. Then, later that night Storm competed in an Immunity Battle Royal that was won by Test, where the winner could not be fired for a year. However, Team Alliance lost and Storm was fired (in storyline) along with the rest of the Alliance roster by Vince McMahon. Storm eventually got his job back officially on the December 17, 2001 edition of Raw when he defeated The Rock with help from Test in a match that earned him a WWF contract. on the December 27 episode of Smackdown. Storm and Kurt Angle lost to The Rock & Rob Van Dam.

Storm and Christian during their World Tag Team Championship reign as The Un-Americans.

Storm remained a heel and on the January 17, 2002 edition of Smackdown, Storm and Christian faced Rikishi in a 2 on 1 Over The Top Rope Challenge which Rikishi won. at the Royal Rumble, Storm competed in the royal rumble match where he was eliminated by Al Snow, at No Way Out, Storm and Christian competed in a Tag Team Turmoil match which was won by The APA,

The Un-Americans (2002)

In June 2002 he formed The Un-Americans along with Christian, Test, and later William Regal.^[10] During this angle, Storm and Christian won the WWE World Tag Team Championship on July 21 at Vengeance by defeating Hulk Hogan and Edge.^[16] On the August 5 edition of Raw, Storm & Christian retained the World Tag Team Titles against The Hardy Boyz by disqualification. On the August 12 edition of Raw, The Un-Americans and Triple H defeated Booker T, The Undertaker, Goldust and The Rock in an 8-man tag team match. At SummerSlam, Storm and Christian defeated Booker T and Goldust to retain the titles. On the September 9 edition of Raw, Storm and Christian defeated Kane & Bradshaw when William Regal hit Bradshaw with a pair of Brass Knuckles and joined the group. At Unforgiven, The Un-Americans (Lance Storm, Christian, William Regal and Test) faced Kane, Goldust, Booker T and Bubba Ray Dudley in a losing effort. They dropped the titles to Kane and The Hurricane on the September 23, 2002 episode of Raw. Eventually, the stable broke apart on the September 30th episode of Raw after they each lost their respective matches, leading to a brawl involving all the members of the group.

Various feuds (2002–2005)

Storm continued teaming with Regal as a regular tag team with the same anti-American gimmick; Storm would represent Canada and Regal represented England. During the Survivor Series Heat event, Storm and William Regal defeated Goldust and The Hurricane. At Armageddon, Storm and Regal competed in a fatal-four way tag team elimination match for the World Tag Team Championship but failed to win the titles. The next month, the duo won the World Tag Team Championship on two separate occasions.^[16] The first was by defeating Booker T and Goldust on the January 6, 2003 episode of Raw with help from Chief Morley, who was appointed "Raw Chief of Staff", but they lost the title at the Royal Rumble to The Dudley Boyz. Storm and Regal began their second reign as World Tag Team Champions the next night on Raw by defeating the Dudley Boyz with help from Chief Morley again. At No Way Out (2003), Storm and Regal defeated Kane and Rob Van Dam to retain the titles. On the March 24, 2003 episode of Raw, Chief Morley announced that since the belts had not been defended in 30 days due to William Regal's health problems, the duo would be stripped of the title. He immediately named himself and Lance Storm the new World Tag Team Champions starting Lance Storm's fourth tag team title reign.^[16] Storm and Morley successfully defended the World Tag Team Championship on an episode of WWE Heat prior to WrestleMania XIX against Rob Van Dam and Kane with help from The Dudley Boyz. The following night on the March 31, 2003 episode of Raw, Storm and Morley faced Kane and Rob Van Dam and The Dudley Boyz in a 3-Way Elimination match, dropping the titles to Kane and Rob Van Dam. at Judgment Day (2003), Storm competed in a Battle Royal for the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship which was won by Christian.

From there, Storm was briefly involved in a storyline in which Stone Cold Steve Austin, an authority figure, encouraged the fans to chant "boring" during Storm's matches including one with Storm losing to newcomer Garrison Cade on June 16, 2003, thanks to Austin bringing out a pillow and blanket and snoring loudly into the microphone, and other distracting antics. Storm eventually found help from Goldust who helped improve Storm's charisma, which eventually turned Storm into a face and Storm started dancing. He soon rejoined Morley, who had also become a face and reverted to his Val Venis character. Their reformed team began entering the ring with very attractive women but this time their tag team never got a push. Storm and Goldust then began teaming together for a short period of time. at Armageddon (2003), Storm and Val Venis competed in a Tag Team Turmoil match for the World Tag Team Championship which was won by Ric Flair and Batista. From December 2003 to March 2004, Storm mainly competed on Sunday Night Heat.

Storm eventually turned into a villain once more by betraying the fans. This happened when he told them of how he was sick and tired of pleasing them with his dancing and how it was just a waste of his time on an episode of Raw following the 2004 WWE draft lottery, only to be squashed by Rhyno immediately thereafter, thus turning Rhyno into a face once again. This would turn out to be Storm's last appearance on Raw.

In April 2004, Storm chose to retire from in-ring action. His last match was on April 19, 2004 and he faced Steven Richards at the Calgary Saddledome. He then accepted a position backstage with WWE, working as a wrestling trainer in Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE's main developmental territory.

On March 23, 2005, Storm came out of retirement to participate in a six-man tag team match with Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro against fellow ECW alumni Tommy Dreamer and the Dudley Boyz. On April 9, 2005 in Cloverport, Kentucky, Storm teamed with Matt Cappotelli to face Mercury and Nitro.

Storm resigned from WWE in May 2005 and announced that he intended to open his own training school in his hometown of Calgary, the Storm Wrestling Academy, with the first semester beginning in September 2005. He returned to WWE for one night on May 30, 2005 and faced Maven on Sunday Night Heat. Storm wrestled one last time on a WWE-promoted show at ECW One Night Stand on June 12, 2005, where he defeated his close friend and former tag team partner Chris Jericho with the help of Justin Credible.

Return to the independent circuit (2005–present)

Storm (right) facing off against Mike Bennett at Showdown in the Sun in 2012.

Since leaving WWE, Storm has made several appearances on the independent circuit. At Hardcore Homecoming on November 4, 2005 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Storm interfered in a steel cage match between Justin Credible and Jerry Lynn, helping Credible defeat Lynn. At the December 3, 2005 Ring of Honor show Steel Cage Warfare in New York, New York, Storm congratulated World Champion Bryan Danielson following a successful title defense against Rocky Romero. On April 1, 2006, at Better Than Our Best, Storm returned to Ring of Honor to face Danielson for the World Championship in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to the event, Storm commended Bryan Danielson and say that he is the one person to make him come out of retirement. Danielson defeated Storm by submission to retain the championship.^[17] ROH fans were appreciative of Storm's efforts and chanted "You've still got it" as a tribute.

May 26 and 27 saw Storm work for the United Kingdom-based wrestling promotion One Pro Wrestling (1PW). On May 26, he teamed with Andy Boy Simmonz, who substituted for Justin Credible due to Credible missing a flight, in a first round match of the Tag Team Championship tournament. Storm and Simmonz lost to eventual finalists A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels. The next night, Storm lost to Doug Williams in a singles match.

Storm has made rare indy appearances for Northern Ontario-based promotion Blood, Sweat & Ears. On December 3, 2006 in Mississauga, Ontario, he lost to Christian Cage and suffered a throat injury due to a stiff clothesline. On July 21, 2007, he defeated Christopher Daniels before defeating Robert Roode on August 11, 2007.

On July 3, 2009 it was announced that Storm would be coming out of retirement to perform at two Ring of Honor shows on July 24 and 25, Death Before Dishonor VII: Nights 1 and 2 respectively.^[18] On July 24, Storm and fellow Canadian Kevin Steen defeated Chris Hero and Davey Richards and on July 25, Storm was defeated by Hero in a one-on-one grudge match. Following the match, Storm cut an emotional promo, and later announced his belief that this would be his last match, saying "I shared this match with people who share my love and respect for this business, and I am now home being Lance Evers with the family I will share the rest of my life with. I still have my school, and I will always be a part of this business, but I truly believe I am now done as a performer. They say, never say never in this business, and because of that I won’t, but I think I left it all in the ring that night and I believe I wrote the final page in the 19-year long book that was the career of Lance Storm."^[19]

In November 2009, Lance Storm announced he had accepted the position as the head booker of the Prairie Wrestling Alliance, a promotion that operates out of Edmonton.^[7] PWA and the Storm Wrestling Academy had also begun working together very closely.

On April 3, 2010, Storm came out of retirement to wrestle his friend Bryan Alvarez at a Tulalip Championship Wrestling event. Storm was defeated in the match, which he wrestled under a mask as The Ideal Canadian.^[2] On March 19, 2011, Storm made a return to the ring at PWA's 10th anniversary show, teaming with Brother Devon in a tag team match, where they defeated Bully Ray and Dylan Knight.^[20] On August 27, 2011, Storm came out of retirement to work a short match with Tommy Dreamer. Storm returned to ROH again on March 30, 2012, for the Showdown in the Sun pay-per-view, losing to Mike Bennett when Maria Kanellis interfered.^[21] He wrestled Bennett again at the following ROH PPV, Border Wars, this time coming out victorious.^[22] At the June 29 tapings of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Bennett defeated Storm following interference from "Brutal" Bob and Maria in the final match of their trilogy.^[23]

On January 18, 2013, Storm worked for the Hart Legacy promotion in Calgary, taking part in a six-man tag team match, where Storm and the Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. and Lance Archer) defeated Bobby Lashley, Chris Masters and Johnny Devine.^[24][25] On June 22, Storm worked for the House of Hardcore promotion, losing to its founder Tommy Dreamer in a main event singles match.^[26] On November 9, 2013, Storm and Sean Waltman were defeated by Dreamer and Terry Funk at House of Hardcore 3. On June 14, 2014, Storm faced Mike Bennett in a losing effort at House of Hardcore 6.

On December 15, 2013, Storm was defeated by Chris Hero at a Smash Wrestling event.^[27] On December 21, 2013, Storm defeated Dan Collins at an EWP Wrestling event. on September 20, 2014, Storm and Justin Credible faced Alex and Kyle Reynolds for the PWS tag team championship but failed to win the titles. On October 3, 2015 at WWE's Live from MSG special event, Storm was acknowledged in the crowd by Chris Jericho, thus making his first WWE appearance since 2005.

On March 16, 2016, Storm challenged Jay Lethal for the ROH World Championship in a losing effort for the Prairie Wrestling Alliance (PWA) 15th Anniversary Show.

On April 2, 2016, Storm, managed by Missy Hyatt, took part in the 2016 Wrestlecon, losing to Matt Hardy.^[28]

Other media

Storm writes a monthly column for British wrestling and MMA publication Fighting Spirit magazine.^[29] Since 2005, Lance has been a regular guest on podcasts available through the Figure Four Weekly / Wrestling Observer web site, as well as a frequent guest on the nationally airing Wrestling Observer Live radio show.^[30] In 2011, Storm and ten of his Storm Wrestling Academy students were featured in a ten-part reality television show, World of Hurt, which premiered on The Cave on May 1.^[20] In 2011, Storm published an E-book for the Amazon Kindle, titled Storm Warning, which is a collection of columns from his website.^[31]

Storm has made appearances on the WWE Network original The Edge and Christian Show, first playing the role of representative of WWE's PG department, then appearing briefly on the season finale.^{[citation needed]}

On October 18, 2016, Storm debuted a new podcast with longtime friend Don Callis called Killing the Town with Storm and Cyrus. The show is part of The Jericho Network^[32] on PodcastOne.

Personal life

Before getting into wrestling, Evers attended Wilfrid Laurier University School of Business and Economics in Waterloo, Ontario.^[33] Evers and his wife Tina have two daughters, Rachel and Rebecca.

Championships and accomplishments

Storm (left) and Chief Morley (right) as the World Tag Team Champions.

• 
  Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling
  
  
  
  • CRMW Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship (5 times)^[34]
    
  
  
  • CRMW North American Championship (1 time)^[35]
    
  
  
  • CRMW North American Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Chris Jericho^[36]
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  Catch Wrestling Association
  
  • 
    CWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[37]
    
  
  


• 
  Extreme Championship Wrestling
  
  • 
    ECW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Chris Candido (1) and Justin Credible (2)^[12]
    
  
  


• 
  Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  
  
  
  • Ranked #13 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2001^[38]
    
  
  
  • Ranked #322 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
  
  
  
  


• 
  Smoky Mountain Wrestling
  
  • 
    SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship (1 time)^[11]
    
  
  


• 
  Wrestle Association "R"
  
  
  
  • 
    WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Yuji Yasuraoka^[39]
    
  
  
  • 
    WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kouki Kitahara and Nobutaka Araya^[40]
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  World Championship Wrestling
  
  
  
  • 
    WCW Hardcore Championship (1 time)^[5]
    
  
  
  • 
    WCW Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)^[14]
    
  
  
  • 
    WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (3 times)^[13][41][42]
    
  
  
  • WCW United States Championship Tournament (July 2000)
  
  
  
  


• 
  World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
  
  
  
  • 
    WWF Intercontinental Championship (1 time)^[15]
    
  
  
  • 
    WWE/World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Christian (1), William Regal (2), and Chief Morley (1)^{[16][43][44][45]}
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  
  • 
    Most Underrated (2001)
  
  

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lance Storm.

• Official website


• The Storm Wrestling Academy


• November 2006 Article/Interview from SLAM! Wrestling


• Online World of Wrestling profile


• WWE Alumni profile


• 
  Lance Storm on IMDb