“Wildcat” Chris Harris Returns for James Storm’s 1000th IMPACT Match

With “Cowboy” James Storm preparing for his 1000th match with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling on Tuesday night, he warned his opponent Eric Young that he would be ready for Young if he brought his friends with him, in reference to Young’s Violent By Design stablemates Cody Deaner, Joe Doering, and Rhino. Storm brought out his current running mate, Chris Sabin & Jake Something. But before Storm could continue, Sabin said they had one more man to back Storm up, as a returning “Wildcat” Chris Harris entered the scene for a powerful reunion of the former tag team known as America’s Most Wanted.

The moment we've been waiting 15 years for – America's Most Wanted reunites! #IMPACTonAXSTV @JamesStormBrand @AMWwildcat @SuperChrisSabin @JakeSomething_ pic.twitter.com/e70B9UqVly

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) March 31, 2021

America’s Most Wanted first formed in the Wild Samoans‘ World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) in the summer of 2001, and a year later, they were recruited by Bob Ryder for the fledgling Total Nonstop Action (TNA) promotion he helped found with Jeff and Jerry Jarrett. After a somewhat slow start, Ryder convinced Jarrett to let the duo go, and go they did. That September, they won their first NWA World Tag Team Championship. Together, the duo would win six NWA world tag team titles and became the promotion’s top tag team in the companies first half-decade.

In 2008, Chris Harris left TNA for the WWE where he was repackaged as Braden Walker, debuting on the rebooted WWE version of ECW. He had two televised matches before being released by the company. Harris returned to TNA briefly in the spring of 2011 as the tag team partner of Matt Hardy in a feud against Beer Money (Storm & Robert Roode), but after two live events and a match at TNA Sacrifice in May, Harris was gone again. He’s remained in the United States indies since, although his appearances have been sporadic.

Since the break-up of America’s Most Wanted, “Cowboy” James Storm would form one of the most dominant tag teams in IMPACT’s first decade of the 21st century, as Beer Money would win the IMPACT World Tag Team Championship five times. In 2011, Storm also won the IMPACT World Heavyweight Championship. Like Harris, Storm would also briefly jump to WWE – working two televised matches for NXT in 2015 – before returning to IMPACT for two more years.

In 2017, Storm left IMPACT and hit the international indies, working for the likes of Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) in Scotland, International Pro Wrestling (IPW) in England, as well as making appearances for both Ring of Honor and Major League Wrestling. In 2019, he joined the rebooted National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), winning the NWA National Championship and NWA world tag team titles (with Eli Drake, now in NXT as LA Knight), before returning to IMPACT once again at the end of 2020.

In the main event on Tuesday’s edition of IMPACT Wrestling, Chris Harris played a role in Storm picking up the victory in his 1000th match. Near the end of the match, with the members of VBD fighting at ringside with Sabin and Something, Eric Young attempted to utilize his Gerry Cheevers-esque scarred mask on Storm, but Harris interfered and staggered Eric Young. Young walked into a Last Call Superkick from Storm, and after the 1-2-3, Storm picked up the win. Whether Harris is back for another run or just appeared for a one-off in honor of his former tag team partner’s historic match, it was a special moment seeing the “Wildcat” in IMPACT Wrestling for the first time in 10 years.

Legendary southpaw @AMWwildcat sets up his old partner @JamesStormBrand for the Last Call once again.

Storm wins his 1000th match! #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/0cVzmhPnDQ

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) March 31, 2021

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