SPOTLIGHT ON: CROWBAR

If there is anyone that is synonymous with East Coast wrestling for over ten years, it's "Dangerous" Devon Storm. Storm has been a fixture on independent shows throughout the Northeast and he competed for the big three: World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).

At the age of 17, Chris Ford knew he wanted to become a professional wrestler and sought after schools near his home in New Jersey. In 1991, he came across former WWE enhancement talent "Iron" Mike Sharpe's school. It was there he learned the basics of mat wrestling. If you saw Sharpe compete in the 1980s, you know Ford did not learn his high flying from him. Ford later furthered his training with current WWE personality, Bill DeMott. Ford came up with the ring name of "Dangerous" Devon Storm and was ready to make a splash. He made his professional debut in January 1992 much like many indy wrestlers do: in a battle royal. He didn't fare too well.

While wrestling, Storm was attending Kean University in New Jersey, working on his degree in Physical Therapy. He attended courses during the week for six years while he moonlighted on the weekends as a pro wrestler, which is why Storm stayed mainly on the East Coast so he was able to drive back and fourth and back to school on Monday.

It took Storm about two years before he was making an impact in indy wrestling. In 1994, he won such titles as the East Coast Professional Wrestling (ECPW) Tag Team Titles with The Kodiak Bear and was also the first International Fighting Network (IFN) Heavyweight champion.

On November 19, 1994, Storm had an opportunity to win the vacant National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World Title in a one-night tournament. Unfortunately for Storm, he never got past the first round as former ECW World Tag Team champion Tracey Smothers eliminated him. Chris Candido went on to win the tournament.

Storm also worked competed for the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (MEWF) in Maryland. He challenged and defeated Chad Austin to win the vacant MEWF Mid-Atlantic Title on December 29, 1995 in Essex, MD. He held on to the title until vacating it on February 16, 1996.

Storm had begun to gain a reputation of imitating Sabu on the indy scene. Storm credits his matches with Sabu throughout 1994 as the series of matches that got Storm noticed. One man watching was ECW head honcho, Paul Heyman. During this time, Sabu was involved in a very hot feud with Taz. Taz would call out Sabu every week and Sabu would not show up. On April 20, 1996 at Hostile City Showdown in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Taz called out Sabu yet again. Instead, he got a man that was painted as a Sabu copycat, Devon Storm. Storm lost the match by count-out when Taz attempted to give Storm an overhead belly-to-belly suplex over the ropes and through a table, but Storm missed most of the table.

Storm was kept around ECW for most of the year. He was paired with Damien Kane, a man that was both a manager and a wrestler. Storm made his return to the ECW Arena on May 11, 1996 at A Matter of Respect. On that night, Storm & Kane defeated the future ECW, WWE and WCW World Tag Team champs The Dudleys by DQ.

Storm was a regular in ECW, competing at the TV tapings and select house shows. He competed in the opening match of Fight The Power at The ECW Arena on June 1, 1996, getting his first singles victory in Philly over El Puerto Ricano. His night was over yet. ECW TV champ "The Franchise" Shane Douglas was putting out multiple open challenges because his opponent that night, 2 Cold Scorpio, was unable to compete due to a staph infection. Douglas waned a workout and defeated several opponents with relative ease. His third opponent in that mini-gauntlet was Devon Storm, which he defeated with ease.

When he wasn't working for ECW, Storm was allowed to compete for other indy companies. He teamed with his partner, Ace Darling, to compete in a match to declare the first Century Wrestling Alliance (CWA) Tag Team champions on July 24, 1996 in Worcester, MA. Their opponents were former ECW & WCW Tag Team champions, The Public Enemy. Storm & Darling won the match and the titles.

Storm got his second consecutive title shot in ECW on August 3, 1996 at The Doctor Is In. But, it wasn't for an ECW Title. Mikey Whipwreck had recently won the European Junior Heavyweight Title from The Dirtbike Kid and was defending it in ECW only a few times until the title was dropped. In the opening match, Mikey retained the ill-fated title against Storm. Later that month, on the 24th, at Natural Born Killaz at The ECW Arena, Storm fell to the late Louie Spicolli.

Storm competed in three more ECW Arena shows before his tenure there was over. On September 14, 1996 at When Worlds Collide, Storm teamed with The Bad Crew to lose to The Sandman in a Handicapped Match. At ECW's big event, November t Remember, on November 16, 1996, Storm lost to 2 Cold Scorpio in a match that lasted about a minute. In his final ECW match, on December 7 at Holiday Hell, Storm lost to Balls Mahoney, who was making his ECW Arena debut.

His ECW exposure opened the door for Storm to work a few shows for WCW, but the experience wasn't as glamorous as you would think. On January 27, 1997, Ace Darling & Devon Storm were brought in to work the live edition of Nitro and were called The Extreme. In their WCW Nitro debut, they were opposed by the WCW World Tag Team champions Scott Hall & Kevin Nash, The Outsiders. The result is what you would expect and then some. The Outsiders totally squashed The Extreme. Same thing happened a week later on Nitro. Hey, it was a way to get their names out there.

Jim Kettner began promoting one of the biggest tournaments of the year, the Super 8, in 1997 during his East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) shows. The Super 8 has launched the careers of such athletes like Billy Kidman, Simon Diamond, Scotty 2 Hotty, The Hardy Boyz, "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, Spanky, The American Dragon, Xavier, AJ Styles, and Paul London. Devon Storm competed in the very first tournament in Delaware on February 22, 1997. In the first round, Storm lost to perennial ECWA favorite, The Cheetah Master. Storm's partner, Ace Darling, eventually won the first tournament.

Storm was making sporadic MEWF appearances when he was booked in a match to determine new MEWF Tag Team champions. On March 2, 1997, he was paired up with Mark Shrader and booked to face the team of Rockin' Rebel and Thomas "The Inchworm" Rodman, whose 15 minutes of fame included brief appearances as a member of the blue World order in ECW. Storm & Shrader left Baltimore, MD as the new champs. The duo ended up losing the titles on June 29, 1997 to Steve Corino & "The Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero.

Back in Titanland, WWE was looking to jump-start their new light heavyweight division. They brought in Japanese athletes The Great Sasuke and Taka Michinoku and brought in United States Wrestling Association (USWA) mainstay "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher and second-generation wrestler "Polish Power" Scott Putski. Putski looked too big to be a light heavyweight, but that didn't stop WWE from pushing him as one. During a live Raw on July 28, 1997 in Pittsburgh, PA, WWE was looking to give the fans a sneak peak at what they could expect from the division. They brought in Devon Storm and Ace Darling to work a match that night. Unfortunately, the fans got nothing of the sort as the match literally lasted about 3o seconds and saw Storm get the duke.

Storm continued to compete for the NWA family and worked several shows for NWA New York. On August 10, 1997 in Staten Island, Storm was scheduled to team with Ace Darling to take on the NWA NY Tag Team champions Thunder Storm, which was comprised of Matt Storm & Jimmy Jack Thunder. Storm was forced to miss the event due to circumstances beyond his control, so Ace Darling took on one of the members of Thunder Storm in a singles match and won the titles for himself & Storm. Their reign as NWA NY Tag Team champions lasted just under seven months as they were stripped on March 7, 1998 due to other commitments.

Darling & Storm continued to team and dominate the tag team division throughout the East Coast, but were vulnerable to losses. On October 18, 1997 in Lawrence, MA, they defended the CWA Tag Team Titles against The Brotherhood, which was comprised of Eric Sbraccia & Knuckles Nelson. The Brotherhood defeated Storm & Darling and the titles were later renamed as the NWA New England Tag Team Titles.

A small New Jersey-based company began running shows in 1997 and was known as Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW). Of course, JAPW would blossom into one of the premier indy companies in the Northeast and was named as DOI's Promotion of the Year for 2004. Darling & Storm were brought in work for JAPW in its early stages. The duo made their JAPW debut on October 31, 1997 at Halloween Hell in Bayonne, NJ. Storm & Darling teamed to defeated NC-17.

After months of hyping their new light heavyweight division, WWE was ready to hold a tournament to crown the first champion in the fall of 1997. In a first round match that aired on Raw on November 10, 1997, Devon Storm squared off against Taka Michinoku. Storm fell to Taka, who would eventually go on to defeat Brian Christopher in the finals the following month.

Devon Storm was getting noticed after his brief stints in ECW and WWE. He was gaining bookings all along the East Coast. He continued to work in NWA New Jersey. He was involved in a tournament on February 14, 1998 to crown a new NWA Light Heavyweight champion, which was vacated by the first champion, Steve Corino. In a single night, Storm defeated "Surfer" Ray Odyssey, Twiggy Ramirez and Reckless Youth to win the tournament. He would defend the title the next several months before vacating it in July 1998.

Storm was booked in his second JAPW show on February 26, 1998, this time as a single. At Valentine's Massacre in Bayonne, NJ, Storm competed against Patch, which resulted in a time limit draw. Two nights later, Storm was booked on the NWA's Third Annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial event in New Jersey. Storm reunited with Ace Darling to defeat Derrick Domino & Harley Lewis to win the vacant NWA United States Tag Team Titles. This was the same title lineage that saw such teams as The Midnight Express, The Fantastics and The Steiners.

Since the first Super 8 was a success, it made sense to hold a second one. The second annual Super 8 tournament was held on March 21, 1998 in Delaware. Storm was invited back to the ECWA for this prestigious tournament. Just like at the first one, Storm was exited in the first round, losing to The Inferno Kid, who now competes in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) as Danny Inferno. Simon Diamond, wrestling as Lance Diamond, went on to win the tournament.

JAPW held their first annual convention on March 22, 1998 in Newark, NJ. The afternoon portion of the event featured a meet-and-greet with some wrestlers, but not just any wrestlers. Appearing at the convention included former WWE champion "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, former ECW champion "The Franchise" Shane Douglas, Francine, Beulah, Al Snow, 911, The Pit Bulls, as well as many other ECW personalities. At night, JAPW presented Night of the Barbed Wire 2. One of the matches on the show was a Best Light Heavyweight On The East Coast Match. Super Nova, who presently competes as Simon Dean in WWE, defeated Reckless Youth, Ace Darling and Devon Storm to win the honorable mention. Other results of the mega show included the legendary Abdullah the Butcher defeating Bandido, New Jack, Spike Dudley and Axl Rotten defeating The Dudleys in an Extreme Death Match, Rob Van Dam defeating Tommy Dreamer, and in the main event, in a 3 Way Barbed Wire Match for the JAPW Tag Team Titles, Homicide & Kane D The Blood Angels and The Sickness to win the titles.

Storm's night wasn't over. He traveled to Garfield, NJ with Ace Darling to defend their NWA US Tag Team Titles. Unfortunately, they finished the night 0-2 as they lost the straps to The Misfits.

WWE kept their eye on the rising star that is Devon Storm. Before he knew it, Storm was working television tapings as an enhancement talent. On an edition of WWE Shotgun, which aired on July 25, 1998, Storm teamed with another East Coast mainstay, Eric Sbraccia to lose to The New Midnight Express, which comprised of "Bombastic" Bob Holly & "Bodacious" Bart Gunn. He returned to WWE the following month, again for Shotgun, to team with Ace Darling to lose to Skull & 8-Ball of DOA in a match that aired on August 29, 1998.

The NWA held their 50th Anniversary Show on October 24, 1998 in Cherry Hill, NJ. Devon Storm teamed with his long time partner, Ace Darling, to defeat NWA 2000 Tag Team champions Lupus & Harley Lewis to win the titles and eventually retire the belts as the last champions.

Also that month, Devon Storm had the honor of being invited to participate in WWE's Funkin' Dojo, which was run by the legendary former NWA World champion Dory Funk, Jr. Also participating in this dojo were Kurt Angle, Test, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, Steve Corino, and "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels, among others. Of the 13 wrestlers in the dojo, Daniels, Corino and Storm were not under contract nor were they offered once the camp ended. Storm would be invited back for a second dojo, but nothing ever materialized. He did get more bookings with WWE, but no contract.

Storm gained regular bookings in ECWA, thanks to his exposure in WWE. ECWA was in need of filling the vacancy of the ECWA Tag Team Titles and held a one night tournament on November 28, 1998 in Wilmington, DE. Storm teamed with Ace Darling in the tournament and the duo went the distance to win the titles.

February 27, 1999 marked the third annual ECWA Super 8 tournament. Devon Storm entered the tournament and was hoping to fare better than he did in the first two. In the first round, Devon Storm eliminated future WWE Tag Team & Intercontinental champion Jeff Hardy before losing in the second round to former WWE developmental wrestler Steve Bradley, who would go on to win the tournament. The following month, on March 17, Storm & Darling teamed to lose the ECWA Tag Team Titles to Christian York & Mark Shrader in Newport, DE.

April 1999 would be the final month of Devon Storm competing in WWE for a few years. On WWE Shotgun, which aired on April 3, 1999, Devon Storm fell to Darren Drozdov. A week later, Storm lost to former WWE Intercontinental & European champion, D'Lo Brown.

Storm was continuing his singles run on the indy scene, and landed back in NWA NY. In Staten Island on May 8, 1999, Storm dethroned Lord Zieg to win the NWA NY TV Title. The reign lasted a few months before Storm lost the title to his long time partner, Ace Darling, on September 2, 1999 in White Plains, NY.

It was soon after that Storm got a call from WCW offering him a contract. His hard work and patience paid off. In late 1999, Chris Ford signed his WCW contract and reported to the WCW Power Plant. He competed in several episodes of WCW Saturday Night before his character, and ring name, was tweaked. David Flair's character had undergone a change and was a psycho. Due to his lack of skills, he was in need of a partner to make the gimmick work. Devon Storm changed his ring attire from tights to ripped change, clutched a lead pipe and was renamed Crowbar. The team was managed by the equally crazy Daffney. Crowbar's main job was to due the bulk of the wrestling while Flair worked to get the gimmick over.

The team were inserted into the tournament to crown new WCW Tag Team champions. The first round of the tournament was held on December 27, 1999 on Nitro. On that night, Crowbar & Flair defeated the unlikely team of Vampiro & Evan Karagias. The following week, January 3, 2000, on Nitro, the rest of the tournament was held. In the next round, Crowbar & Flair defeated Lash Leroux & Midnight, the valet of Booker T. Later that night, in the semi-finals, Crowbar & Flair beat Buff Bagwell & Vampiro, who was subbing for Kanyon. Then, in the main event, Crowbar & Flair upset Kevin Nash & Scott Steiner in the main event to win the WCW Tag Team Titles when referee Arn Anderson hit Nash with a crowbar and put Flair on top of Nash for the win.

The new WCW Tag champs made their first defense on Thunder, which aired on January 6, 2000. The unlikely tag champions were successful in their first defense, defeating Konnan & Billy Kidman, who were members of The Filthy Animals. They made their first Nitro defense on January 10, 2000 in a 3 Way Falls Count Anywhere Match. They were once again successful, upending the teams of Konnan & Billy Kidman and Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn.

With no build up, other than the two meetings in the tag title tournament, Crowbar was set to make his PPV debut at Souled Out on January 16, 2000 in Cincinnati, OH, against Vampiro and his partner David Flair in a Triple Threat Match. Vampiro won the match when he pinned Flair.

The following night on Nitro, in what would be their final successful title defense, Flair & Crowbar defeated 3 Count members Shane Helms & Shannon Moore. Unfortunately for the upstart tag team, they lost the titles to The Mamalukes, who were Johnny The Bull & Big Vito, the following night at the Thunder taping. They had a rematch for the titles on the January 31, 2001 Nitro, which was a Bensonhurst Street Fight. The Mamalukes retained. Crowbar & Flair didn't stop there. In the main event of the February 2, 2000 Thunder, Crowbar & Flair beat the champs in a non-title match. A title rematch was booked for SuperBrawl X. The Thunder before that PPV, Vito defeated Crowbar in a Philadelphia Street Fight to gain the edge in this war over the titles. Then at SuperBrawl on February 20, 2000, The Mamalukes retained the titles in a Sicilian Stretcher Match at the famed Cow Palace in San Francisco, CA.

Right after this PPV, WCW underwent a major change. Kevin Sullivan was removed from the booking committee and WCW rehired Eric Bischoff and brought back Vince Russo to take control. They wiped out all current storylines and restarted WCW on April 16, 2000 at Spring Stampede in Chicago, IL. A Suicide 6 Man Match was set up to determine the new Cruiserweight champion. "Hard Knox" Chris Candido defeated Shannon Moore, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince Iaukea, Juventud Guerrera, Lash LeRoux, and Crowbar to win the vacant title. Under the Russo-Bischoff regime, Crowbar was labeled a cruiserweight, so he pursued the title afterwards. He challenged Candido to a match on the May 10, 2000 Thunder, losing to the champ. An unusual match took place on the May 15 Nitro. Crowbar teamed with his valet, Daffney, to take on Cruiserweight champ Candido and his valet Tammy Lynn Sytch in which the Cruiserweight Title was on the line. Daffney got the pin on Sytch, thus making Crowbar & Daffney co-Cruiserweight champions.

Crowbar had a huge career match on the May 17, 2000 edition of Thunder when he and David Flair teamed to take on "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair & "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson in the main event. Crowbar was now rubbing shoulders in the ring with the elite. Anderson & Flair got the win over the younger Flair & Crowbar.

Crowbar wanted to be in sole possession of the title so he squared off against Daffney on the May 2, 2000 Nitro. Daffney upset Crowbar to become the undisputed Cruiserweight champion, with a little help from David Flair. Tension between Flair & Crowbar mounted and the two finally met in a match on the June 14, 2000 Thunder, which saw Flair get the win. A rematch was held on the July 5, 2000 Thunder with Crowbar winning and blowing the feud off.

Crowbar continued to work indy shows when he got the chance in his home state of New Jersey. On August 24, 2000, he defeated the late "Big" Dick Dudley to become the first NWA New Jersey Hardcore champion in Wildwood. Crowbar held the title for several months before being stripped due to the promotion getting rid of the hardcore style.

Crowbar shifted his energies to the Hardcore Division in WCW, after taking over the Tag Team and Cruiserweight Divisions, albeit for brief times. Crowbar challenged WCW Hardcore champion Reno to a match on the November 6, 2000 taping of Thunder in Chicago, IL. Crowbar won his first major sole possession of a championship that night and left Chi-Town the King of Hardcore.

Crowbar was quite the fighting champion. He defended against all comers on Nitro and Thunder. In his first two defenses, he defeated former WCW Tag Team championship rival Big Vito and former ECW World champion Bam Bam Bigelow. He defended the Hardcore Title in a Triangle Match at WCW Mayhem on November 26, 2000, retaining it against Big Vito and Reno. He was successful in his next few defenses, defeating former partner David Flair and "Prime Time" Elix Skipper. Next thing he knew, Crowbar was involved in a feud with the Hardcore Legend himself, Terry Funk. The two battled on WCW's signature event, Starrcade, on December 17, 2000 in the Nation's capital. Crowbar lost the title to the icon. Crowbar got a rematch at the title on January 14, 2001 at WCW Sin, this time Meng was also thrown into the mix. Meng won the match and the title and was also the last man to hold it.

Once he lost the Hardcore Title, Crowbar wasn't used as much. WCW was in the middle of negotiating a sale to Eric Bischoff and his backers, Fusient. Concentration of angles was limited and Crowbar was one of the many that suffered. Before being released from WCW, Crowbar was paired with Mike Awesome, who was doing that horrible "That 70s Guy" gimmick. Crowbar was also stuck in leisure suits. In Crowbar's final Nitro appearance, on January 29, 2001, he lost to Lance Storm. In his final Thunder appearance, he lost to Jeff Jarrett. A month before WCW was sold to WWE, Crowbar was released from his contract due to cost cutting. It was back to the indy scene for Chris Ford.

Ford continued to use the Crowbar gimmick on indy shows so that fans recognize a familiar face. He returned to JAPW at Meltdown at Viking Hall in Philadelphia to defeat JAPW Light Heavyweight champion Ric Blade in the main event in a non-title match and beat Blade. On June 3, 2001, Crowbar made his USA Pro debut at Deer Park Destruction II, losing to former ECW Triple Crown winner, Mikey Whipwreck.

WWE didn't forget about Crowbar. In his first WWE match in some time, Crowbar was brought in to work a dark match before Raw went on the air at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It took place on June 25, 2001, the same night WCW invaded WWE at The Garden. El Gran Apollo defeated Crowbar, who was announced as Devon Storm.

Crowbar was never one to remain in one independent promotion and be a fixture long enough to be involved in any high profile angles. Jac Sabboth ran some great shows in Queens, NY at the famed Elks Lodge, which was called Impact Championship Wrestling (ICW). With a great mix of veteran talent and guys cutting their teeth in the business, ICW had all bases covered as far as satisfying the fans. Crowbar made his ICW debut on June 30, 2001, defeating Balls Mahoney at Last Stand. The next night, Crowbar traveled to White Plains, NY to face off against Low Ki in one of their first encounters. Low Ki scored the win over the indy veteran. Crowbar and Low Ki's rivalry then spilled over into USA Pro, as Crowbar made his debut for the company on July 15, 2001 at Madhouse in Mineola II in New York. Crowbar battled Low Ki to a time limit draw.

Crowbar made several trips back to the promotion in which he help dominate that tag team division, ECWA. This time, he was returning as a singles wrestler. He squared off against Inferno in Newport, DE on July 21, 2001, and got the duke against a man he has faced many times. Seven nights later, Crowbar ventured to Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW) in Bel Air, MD and defeated former WWE Hardcore and ECW Tag Team champion, Stevie Richards. Spilling into yet a third promotion, the Crowbar-Low Ki war erupted in ECWA. They had a match on August 1, 2001 in Dover, DE. This time, Crowbar got a win over the former NWA World Tag Team champion.

Crowbar was one of many wrestlers that were duped by the chicanery of John Collins. Collins promised many wrestlers that he would start a promotion to go head-to-head with WWE since WCW and ECW were out of business. Collins rounded up almost every major name not under contract to WWE and held a major show at Viking Hall in Philadelphia for a promotion called Main Event Championship Wrestling (MECW). Crowbar was one of the many brought in to work the show. He defeated Roadkill and DOI columnist Billy Reil in a 3 Way Dance. MECW would hold a few select house shows before folding. Collins got in trouble with the law and eventually passed away.

ICW and USA Pro held back-to-back shows on August 25 and 26, 2001 respectively. For ICW in Staten Island, Crowbar teamed up with Mikey Whipwreck and Kid Kruel, now known as Mike "The Shooter" Kruel, to defeat Guido Maritado, Tony Mamaluke and "The Prodigy" Tom Marquez. The following night in Atlantic Beach, NY at USA Pro Beach Show II, Crowbar reigniting his rivalry with Low Ki and defeated Ki.

Crowbar was headlining shows against Low Ki as they put on some great matches and had good chemistry. USA Pro held a rematch between the two athletes on September 8, 2001 at Parental Discretion Advised in New York. The two did battle in a special 30 Minute Iron Man Match. Low Ki defeated Crowbar 4-3. They brought their feud into JAPW and did battle on September 21, 2001 at United We Stand in Bayonne, NJ. They did battle in the main event of the show and saw Crowbar win the match by DQ when guest referee, Ric Blade, DQed Low Ki. With Ki handling his business with Blade, Crowbar returned to JAPW on October 13, 2001 at Hackettstown Invasion and defeated Kid Kruel. Six nights later in Elizabeth, NJ, Crowbar made his Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW) debut and defeated Inferno to win the vacant JCW TV Title.

Rock concert promoter Andrew McMannus was another promoter looking to give fans an alternative to WWE. He didn't make any outlandish promises, but did offer non-WWE wrestlers a chance to work shows with big houses. He put together the World Wrestling All Stars (WWA). The promotion would hold house shows overseas and would then tape a PPV event to air in the United States at a later date. Wrestling as Devon Storm, he joined his first WWA tour from October 21-27, 2001 on the second night of the tour. He wanted to make the first WWA tour, but had commitments with his other job. On October 21 and 23 in Australia, Storm faced and lost to former WCW Hardcore champion Norman Smiley. On October 25 in Australia, he defeated Danny Dominion. WWA taped their Inception PPV on October 26, 2001 and Storm lost to Smiley in a Hardcore Match, which was aired in the United States on January 6, 2002. On the final night of the tour, Storm defeated Danny Dominion in a Tables Match. Other notables on the tour included Bret "Hitman" Hart, Konnan, BG James, Juventud Guerrera, Buff Bagwell, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Nathan Jones, and Jeff Jarrett.

Another upstart promotion was looking to make waves in Florida called the XWF, whose rights were recently sold to Jimmy Hart. This promotion had the same concept as WWA and MECW before that, bringing in wrestling's biggest names, which included the legendary Hulk Hogan. They taped many shows over several days in November 2001 in Universal Studios. Devon Storm arrived at the tapings on the second day. He defeated Keith Northcutt during one set of tapings that day and later that night lost to The Demon. This would be Storm's only brush with the XWF.

WWA returned with another star-studded tour from November 27-December 11, 2001. On November 27, 28 and December 1, Devon Storm defeated Norman Smiley in a series of Table Matches in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Dublin, Ireland and Birmingham, England respectively. On December 5, 8, 9, and 11 in Manchester, England, Glasgow, Scotland, New Castle, England, and Cardiff, Wales respectively, Smiley defeated Storm throughout in a series of Table Matches. Other notables competing on this tour included Scott Steiner, Jeff Jarrett, BG James, Nathan Jones, Konnan, Buff Bagwell, Psicosis, and Juventud Guerrera.

Crowbar returned Stateside in 2002 and went back to work on the indy scene. His first stop was a return to USA Pro on January 11, 2002. At All Hell Breaks Loose, Crowbar was booked to compete in the main event of the show against the would-be WWE champion, Eddie Guerrero. Eddie got the win over Crowbar, much to the delight of the crowd. Crowbar then made his debut for a promotion he would be a part of in the future, Cyberspace Wrestling Federation (CSWF) on January 25, 2002. Storm beat the future CSWF champion Slyck Wagner Brown in what was said to be the match of the night.

On December 15, 2001, Russ Haas died prematurely at the age of 27 due to heart disease. He was under a developmental deal with WWE, along with his brother and current WWE superstar, Charlie. Before gaining that contract, The Haas Brothers cut their teeth in the indy scene, and competed for such promotions as Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), JAPW and the ECWA, holding titles in all those promotions. JAPW held a show in his honor on February 2, 2002 in Bayonne, NJ. On that show, Crowbar took on Simon Diamond and Charlie Haas in a Triple Threat Match. Haas got the win in honor of his late brother.

Jasmin St. Claire & The Blue Meanie decided to jump into the Philadelphia indy wrestling scene and started up Pro Pain Pro Wrestling (3PW). They ran their first show on February 15, 2002. They used mostly local talent and brought in former ECW wrestlers Guido Maritado, Chris Hamrick, Joey Matthews and Christian York as well as indy wrestlers CM Punk and Colt Cabana to work their inaugural show. Crowbar faced Steve Corino and The Sandman in a 3 Way Dance, which saw Corino get the win. The following night at USA Pro's Deer Park Destruction in Long Island, Crowbar defeated another ECW alumnus Nova, who now competes in WWE as Simon Dean.

WWA attempted to present a live PPV on February 24, 2002 called Revolution. They made their United States debut and presented it from Las Vegas. Devon Storm and Sabu continued their rivalry that began in 1994 that night. Storm got the win over the hardcore icon in this No DQ Match. WWA then returned with three more shows in April 2002 in Australia. On April 7 and 10, Sabu faced and defeated Storm on both nights. On April 13, 2002, WWA taped their Eruption PPV and one of the matches that aired was Sabu defeating Storm again, this time in a

Steel Cage Match. Crowbar's journeys throughout Northeast indys continued on March 1, 2002 as he returned to JAPW for Back to Business in Bayonne, NJ. Crowbar got a win over Matt Striker. Crowbar then returned to ICW on March 16, 2002 at Evolution of Impact in Queens, NY. He competed in a #1 Contender's Tournament. In the first round, he defeated Nova, but succumbed to Chris Divine in the next round. Two days later, USA Pro presented Blood, Sweat and Tears in New York and Crowbar competed on the show and defeated his former WCW Cruiserweight Title rival Chris Candido. USA Pro presented another show on June 8, 2002, this time in memory of former USA Pro champion and ECW personality "Big" Dick Dudley. Crowbar faced and lost to Gangrel.

Major League Wrestling (MLW) was yet another promotion that set out with ambitions to turn the wrestling world on its ear. They brought in wrestlers who were known for their great ring work rather than bringing in major names to bring prestige to the promotion. Wrestling as Devon storm, he debuted at MLW Genesis on June 16, 2002. In 6 Man Tag Team action, Storm teamed with Rising Son and Abunai and they fell in defeat to Prince Nana, Super Hentai and Ultra Taro Jr. Later that month, on the 29th, Crowbar returned to 3PW at A War Renewed and lost to former ECW Tag Team champion "Pit Bull" Gary Wolfe.

Crowbar received another opportunity to shine in the national spotlight once again, this time with NWA Total Non-stop Action (TNA). He made his debut on July 10, 2002 in Nashville, TN. He was now known as Tempest and was managed by Father James Mitchell and was a part of The New Church, wrestling in several matches before disappearing again. On his debut for the promotion, he teamed with Slash to NWA Tag Team champions AJ Styles & Jerry Lynn.

Returning as Crowbar, he returned to Frank Goodman's USA Pro at North Shore Invasion on August 19, 2002. It was there that he fell to the six-time USA Pro/UXW champion Balls Mahoney. Five nights later, Crowbar competed in the tournament to crown a new 3PW champion in Philadelphia. He lost to Danny Doring in the first round of the tournament. Gary Wolfe eventually won it. Then, on August 30, Crowbar reigniting his rivalry with Low at USA Pro Guilty Until Proven Innocent, defeating Low Ki in a Table Match.

Crowbar competed in his last JAPW show, as of this writing, on September 13, 2002. He defeated Danny Doring at Never Forget in Bayonne, NJ. MLW made its only New York City appearance on September 26, 2002 in its return show, which saw Devon Storm lose to CW Anderson. Becoming a fixture in USA Pro, Crowbar returned to the company at Halloween Heat in Queens, NY on October 19, 2002, losing to Mike Kruel. A month later, on November 22, at USA Pro's Eight Anniversary, Crowbar turned on his friend Malice and cheated to gain a victory over him later in the night in Queens, NY. In one of Crowbar's last big matches of 2002, he defeated Matt Striker at 3PW Return of The Dream in Philadelphia.

Adult film entrepreneur Rob Black presented us his foray into the wrestling business called Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW). The promotion ran most of its shows on the west coast, but decided to expand into the east. On February 24, 2003, Crowbar made his debut for the company, this time under the identity of Salem. He lost to Chris Hero. He returned to XPW in Los Angeles, CA several nights later, losing to British wrestler Jonny Storm. He continued to work for XPW and lost to "Vicious" Vic Grimes on March 1, 2003. Seven nights later in Pittsburgh, PA for XPW, Salem got his first win in a rematch against Grimes. Salem reverted back to Crowbar on April 4, 2003 at USA Pro Blood, Sweat and Tears 2 in Queens, NY. Crowbar fell to former Ring Of Honor (RoH) champion, "The All Around Best" Xavier.

Devon Storm got a call back from WWE to work a dark match before they went live on the air with Raw on May 12, 2003. Storm was paired up with his former WCW valet, Daffney, for this match. Storm got the win over Mike Bell. The following night at the Smackdown taping, with Daffney again by his side, Storm fell to Joey Matthews.

WWA held their final three shows on May 21, 23 and 25 in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand respectively. On the first two nights, Storm defeated Mark Mercedes in two straight Hardcore Matches. On the final night, which was a taping of the Reckoning PPV that would air on June 8, 2003, Storm defeated Konnan in a Falls Count Anywhere Match.

Returning to TNA as Devon Storm, he competed in the Hard 10 Tournament, which was basically a tournament to decide who is the most hardcore. On June 11, 2003, Storm faced off against former ECW champion The Sandman, and Storm lost to The Extreme Icon. He would return for one of his last TNA match on August 13, 2003, teaming with The Vampire Warrior and Sinn to lose to the 3 Live Kru, which makes up of Konnan, Ron "The Truth" Killings and BG James.

He returned to USA Pro at Now or Never in Queens, NY on June 27, 2003, and was involved in a squash match. Crowbar teamed with The Masked Maniac and Bam Bam Bigelow to defeat The Elm Street Kidz, which comprise of Psycho, Rayza and Danny Yams.

Devon Storm would return to WWE for several more tapings in the fall of 2003. On September 22, he lost to Scott Steiner in a match taped for Sunday Night Heat. The following night, he lost to Sean O'Haire in a match taped for Velocity.

As 2003 came to a close, Crowbar's bookings on the indy scene became limited. He was wrestling less and less, most likely due to his other job. On November 29, 2003, USA Pro was looking to crown a new United States champion. In a match for the vacant belt at The End of An Era at The Elks Lodge, Mike Kruel defeated Crowbar to win the title. Crowbar competed on USA Pro's Valentine's Massacre in Bethpage, NY and defeated Skinhead Ivan.

During 2004, Crowbar worked almost exclusively for CSWF, as a member of Team TNA as Mr. Crowbar. He played more of a managerial role and served as a bodyguard for TNA play-by-play man Mike Tenay. On October 30, 2004 at CSWF Halloween Horror in Wayne, NJ, Crowbar was squashed by Abyss, who was making his CSWF debut.

As 2004 grew to a close, Crowbar decided to try his hand at promoting shows. He began a small promotion in New Jersey called New Millennium Wrestling (NMW). Their debut show took place on November 24, 2004 in East Rutherford, NJ. The first show was designed to help the less fortunate as fans were allowed free admission as long as the brought canned goods. Crowbar faced off against "So Fine" Vic D. Vine in a match to crown the first NMW Northeast champion. Crowbar won the title. NMW held their second show on December 26, 2004, this time all proceeds went to Sabu to help pay his medical costs. Vic D. Vine won the rematch and the title in a match that was overseen by special referee, former multiple time WWE champion, Mick Foley.

Whether he is Devon Storm or Crowbar, it should not be forgotten that Crowbar comes to us from a class of indy favorites such as Ace Darling, Reckless Youth and "Inferno" Dan Gimondo. These were some of the guys that were fixtures in indy wrestling in the early 90s and still hold a place in indy wrestling today. Storm always puts on some great matches and works his butt off 110% of the time. Storm's contributions to indy wrestling can be felt in some of the Northeast's top promotions, like USA Pro, JAPW and ECWA. If you are lucky enough to catch Crowbar in action, you will bear witness a great wrestler that has hooked up with some of the industry’s best.

John Gjoni