“Timeless” Toni Storm is entertaining the masses with her wit, beauty, and bizarre personality all while reaching the highest of highs in her illustrious career. She’s become one of AEW’s most popular wrestlers, has won the AEW Women’s championship for a record-setting fourth time, and alongside Mariah May, put on the best women’s feud in the company’s history. It seems a switch in character has propelled Storm to ultimate stardom.
It’s hard to imagine Toni Storm as anything but timeless, but there was a time when she was an outcast. A rockstar. A fan. Let’s take a look at the evolution of “Timeless” Toni Storm and why this current version of herself is her greatest performance yet.
A Star is Born:
It feels like Storm has been wrestling forever. She's only 29 years old, but the young veteran has over 15 years of experience.
The New Zealand-born fell in love with wrestling at 10 years old, infatuated with stars such as Mickie James and the Hardy Brothers.
At 13, she started training at a small wrestling company on the Gold Coast, where she’d wrestle against men.
In the very early days, she went by just “Storm” and wore bright, girly colors. She was a wide-eyed newbie who was just happy to be here.
In her early days, Storm had trouble figuring out what her in-ring persona would be.
“Well, what can I say? I’m blonde and I’m crazy! Haha!” Storm via The British Wrestling Revival
Any promos of her from this time show a very energetic, quirky young woman. You can tell it's just Storm being her goofy, young self, but one that sticks out to me is one where she calls herself a sweet potato compared to the regular potatoes of the world.
While it's silly and really makes no sense, it shows off her humor and natural girl-next-door energy. Her grin is infectious, and you can see the love she has for wrestling in these moments. She’s so young and has the entire world ahead of her.
Storm really found her stride when she landed on the gimmick that was most true to herself.
She’d don a rockstar look inspired by the glam metals of the 80s. Now, she wore cool colors, opting for red, black, and white. She came out to rock music while sporting devil horns in the air. She wore a backward snapback, sported a cool leather jacket, and came out with sunglasses despite being inside. As a child, she’d pretend to be a wrestler and rockstar, so this was as on brand as it could get for her.
As a character, Storm stayed true to her personality for the most part, but the new look was memorable and helped her stand out.
She’d have huge success in the indies as she wrestled in multiple promotions across the globe.
In 2017, she became the first-ever Progress Women’s Champion while participating in the company’s first women’s main event. In Japan, she found herself in World Wonder Ring Stardom. At just 21, she was the first person to win the Cinderella Tournament and the 5Star Grand Prix in the same year. Also, she captured more gold as she won the SWA World Championship, which she held for a record-setting 612 days, and won Stardom’s greatest prize, the World of Stardom Championship.
Perhaps Storm’s second most known run is her time in WWE. She was first formally introduced to the WWE Universe in 2017 during the Mae Young Classic. While unsuccessful in the first attempt, she did win the tournament the next year. It seemed like the sky was the limit for Storm as she found success after success.
In 2019, she won the NXT UK Women’s Championship. During this time, Storm was still traveling back and forth between the UK and Japan as she was still able to compete in different promotions. She made sure the world ran on Toni Time.
She’d make her NXT debut in 2020, now signed full-time with the company. During this run, she didn’t accomplish much, and it was very short-lived as she made her main roster debut about a year later. She did do a small heel run during her time there, but the promos always felt a bit forced. I just wasn’t convinced she believed what she was saying.
On Smackdown, she was a generic babyface and was given no TV time. Like most NXT call-ups, it seemed the company had no plans for her. She never got the chance to build any kind of character. Sure, she loved the 80s and rock music, but what else? What motivated her? Who was she?
While she did challenge for the Women’s Championship, this chase saw her receive a pie to the face (twice) from Charlotte Flair. It was disheartening to see Storm just stand there and take it; overall, it was just an odd and upsetting segment that did nothing for Storm's character besides embarrass her.
In December 2021, an unmotivated and crushed Storm requested her release, which was immediately granted. As a girl who grew up infatuated with WWE, the same company had almost killed her love for pro wrestling.
There's No Business Like Show Business:
It wouldn’t be too long before we’d see the rockstar back on our screens. Storm made her surprise AEW debut on March 30, 2022, on an episode of Dynamite. Full of energy, the blonde came out to a rock song in a full leather fit.
While her character work was once again nonexistent as she’s just being herself, it was nice to see Storm enjoying wrestling again.
She quickly got her hands on gold as she beat 3 other women to become AEW Interim Women’s World Champion. She held on to the belt for 76 days before losing it to Jamie Hayter.
In 2023, Storm would turn heel as she teamed with Saraya and Ruby Riott as they declared war on the AEW Women’s Locker Room. It did read as an attempt to be “Ex-WWE girls” versus the “homegrown talent of AEW,”. It was a pretty uninspired angle that never really got a big payoff in the end. Anyways, the trio known as the “The Outcasts” would use their strength in numbers to humiliate talent by tagging them in bright green spray paint.
It was your generic heel group. Annoying. Bullies. I watch promos from Toni during this time, and it feels so odd. She’s so… there. The promo ability isn’t the problem per se. She has some funny, bratty moments, but the contents of her promos are basic and unmemorable. It never feels like her character has any direction.
Perhaps this group wouldn’t be all bad, as Storm was able to win back the World Championship at that year’s Double or Nothing. However, her reign ended even shorter than her first, at just 66 days.
The following weekend after her loss, Storm was interviewed backstage on Collision. Instead of her typical space buns and green embellished outcast gear, Storm had her hair in curlers and donned a black silk robe.
Tony Schiavone announces he’s with the former women’s champion, and Storm winces.
She asks Tony if she’s just not a star anymore. If she’s just not talented like she was. Has she lost it? Is she just not good enough?”
She raises her voice and has a meltdown. “Look at me! Look at the state of me! Look at me! Do you really think this is what is right for me? No, it’s not! I am the illustrious Toni Storm, damn it! Well known, respected, and admired all over the world for everything I have done. This is not right!”
She went from collecting titles around the world to reaching her ultimate dream to then having it all ripped from her. She went to AEW, and sure, she’s won the company’s top belt twice. But were those ventures really successful? She didn’t even get to enjoy her reigns properly. Was she losing her touch? Was she already over?
This was probably one of the best promos Storm had cut in her whole career so far. It also gave a glance into what Storm could do if given the opportunity. This seemed like character work and that’s something we hadn’t seen Storm really tackle in her lengthy career yet.
At All In, Storm came out in full movie-star gear while playing up to the crowd like an adoring Hollywood starlet. Her name in movie lights. Her theme was a classic score. “She’s whacked out of her gourd,” commentary goes.
Overall, the match was a bit of a mess, but, in general, the women’s division was all over the place, with lots of moving parts slowing down the division, whether that be bad angles, not enough tv time, or lack of care by multiple parties.
Plus, the division was lacking something like Storm. Not many of the girls had a strong personality and had to get over with their wrestling skills. At this time, Britt Baker was the company’s most popular women's wrestler and that also ties in with the fact she was the most charismatic on the mic.
The following Dynamite, Renee Paquette is with a visibly upset and disheveled Storm. “She (Saraya) went completely off script. She completely forgot her part in my performance at All In! And now I’m stood here with no titles, no friends, no nothing!... It’s safe to say that Wembley went tits up!”
Failed attempt at the title. No friends. At her lowest, Storm sat down for an exclusive sit down interview with RJ City for “Portrait of a Star”.
The mid-Atlantic accent here is fully realized and it’s more the tone we’re used to hearing today.
“I haven’t changed. This business has! I’m still the lovable, captivating Toni that I’ve always been. And I thought this business was about being stars and making money. But no, its listen to the fans and sign every little girl with a sob story. I’m sorry I thought this was a company. Not a charity.”
Something I’ve noticed after revisiting Storm’s whole AEW career is the self-reflection and ironies in her Timeless gimmick. She was once that “little girl with a sob story,”.
In the second part of Portrait of a Star, when asked what has been the peak of her career Storm gets offended.
“All I do is peak!... This business can be a cruel mistress. I do miss the old days. It was a happier time. A simpler time. Slap on a backward hat. Slap a pie in someone's face. They loved you. And now it’s well what have you done for me recently. Now its if you don't bleed and cry every week, then you won't get a good write-up in the trades. Well, pardon me for being a star! and if the world has forgotten what that looks like then chin up. Tits out… I guess I’ll just have to remind them…”
She takes a shot on the argument that women could only get TV time if they bled- a criticism some had about the women’s division only getting big spots if they had a hardcore, bloody match.
It also seems like Storm has a point to prove. To remind everyone who the hell she is.
In the third Portrait of a Star, City mentions how Storm has been wrestling for a long time, over 14 years, to which Storm becomes enraged and starts throwing her shoes at him. “Time? Who cares! Let’s talk about now! I’m here now!”
She grabs City by his collar and shouts, “God, you lie awake at night wondering, do I have it, or am I just lucky? When every match, every minute, every pay-per-view is just a roll of the dice to see if it'll all be taken away!”
City exclaims, “You’re not even old,” to which Storm has a realization and shouts, “I’m Timeless!”
The Timeless character seemed to be Storm taking back time. She is still so young, and yet she’s scared about her future as all this could be gone tomorrow.
A veteran already with a list of accomplishments some don’t even get by the time they retire. Is she already old news? Has she already peaked? What will people remember? A backward hat? A pie to the face? Spray paint?
Time. Where has the time gone?
To take back her time, Storm has now gone back in time and reinvented herself as "Timeless" Toni Storm.
The character was fully realized after this final interview. Her gear was reminiscent of those in the 50s. She’d take the bit further by acquiring a personal butler, Luther. When she’d come out to the ring, the screen would turn black and white. She’d even star in silent films that would debut on Dynamite. While Storm’s no stranger to being stuck in the past, this is completely unlike anything Storm’s ever done in her career.
The character would become insanely popular as fans were enamored by Storm. Her promos were especially a hit as she sounded like a charming movie star but then threw in a sexual innuendo that would catch you so off guard. The facial expressions she made were ludicrous, and she could land a joke based on them alone.
“Chin up, tits out, and watch for the shoe” would become her iconic catchphrase, warning those to watch for any flying heels if she had a meltdown.
Many honestly didn’t think she even had this in her. Looking throughout her career, Storm’s never been a promo person. She mainly relied on her wrestling skills and personality to get by. I think Storm’s natural ability on the mic is what shocked most. We had never seen Storm play a character that wasn’t grounded or like herself, but she quickly got into the groove with this new, eccentric, and larger-than-life diva.
AEW women’s division was lacking characters. Sure, the roster was stacked with talented wrestlers, but the company had failed to give these women TV time to showcase who they were and what they believed in. This new character from Toni demanded the spotlight so the company was forced to give her a mic and show what she could do.
This change would be what Storm needed to regain her title for the third time.
But of course, every huge star has adoring fans and Storm would meet her biggest one soon.
All About Mariah:
In November 2023, it was announced that Mariah May was now signed with AEW. May stated she was a big fan of Storm and only wrestled in STARDOM to be like her and now she was in AEW to meet her.
After gaining Storm's trust and friendship, she’d become her protege. That included inheriting Storm’s gear from her rockstar days and using some of Storm’s moves, such as the running hip attack.
The two shared an odd relationship as Storm kept May close to her bosom and called her her child, but the two shared cheeky kisses and longing stares. Strange to describe and write out, but it was a beautiful relationship nonetheless.
However, things would take a turn for the worse when May won the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.
When Storm went to congratulate May on her win, May immediately turned on her idol and left her a bloody, crying mess. It’s one of the best segments in AEW history, in my opinion, and the visual of Toni bleeding while May is holding her will remain forever iconic.
May had planned this from the very beginning. She had made Storm fall in love with her, and now she was going to rip her heart out. Storm had a reason to be paranoid from the start.
Leading up to their rendezvous at All In, the two had incredible segments and promos where we saw undeniable passion, rage, and heat between the two.
Say what you want about the characters, the theatrics, or the feud, but you cannot deny this is the most love and attention a women’s storyline has ever gotten in AEW. Plus, we got to see Storm's full range. Funny, raunchy comedy one week and heartbreaking, cries the next.
At All In, May conquered Storm, and after the match, Storm could be seen stumbling to the back, lost in thought.
Storm would disappear from AEW for a while, but she’d travel the world to get her mojo back. She had an unsuccessful attempt at the IWGP Women’s title against Iwatani in STARDOM. Then, a week later she popped up in Mexico and competed in CMLL. Storm seemed to be inspired by returning to her roots of traveling around the world to wrestle.
So, when Storm made her return, it was only right that Storm came back as her rockstar persona.
At first, it seemed like Storm was “freed” of being timeless and was now back to “normal,”. However, we’d come to find out Storm had forgotten everything about being timeless. Or being an Outcast. Or even anything before that! In her mind, she had just made her AEW debut for the first time.
Starry-eyed, she was just happy to be here, and it was like watching her early days all over again.
The rookie’s big break came in the company’s first-ever Casino Gauntlet for the women. After winning, she was guaranteed a match at Grand Slam Australia against the current champion, Mariah May. Technically, the two would finally meet for the first time.
“Mariah May… I am your biggest fan.” Storm connects to May’s bosom before getting brutally attacked by the Glamor.
As May starts walking away, a familiar accent comes from the ring. “What makes you think that I’ve forgotten…”
“What makes you think our dance is done? Each scar, every drop of blood, I will feel forever. But now, it’s my moment in the sun. They say the hardest role you will ever play is yourself.” Storm strips to her classic get-up. “But what you've just witnessed is the performance of a lifetime!” She smears her lipstick across her face..
“Mariah May you may be the woman from hell but you came from my womb and I will shove you back up there and spit you out for I am Timeless, Timeless, Timeless Toni Storm and I’m going to rip your tits off!”
Despite not doing much to her appearance, Storm had completely transformed herself into another person in real time.
The rookie stuff was a really fun twist in the story and got to show Storm’s range even more. But the reveal was perfection and one of Storm’s greatest moments ever.
At Grand Slam, Storm won back the title in her home country, but this would not be the two’s final dance.
May, dissatisfied with that last act, ambushes Toni on Collision. “Look what you made me do! You never did know how to write an ending, did you? So I guess I’m going to write one for you, and I’m going to write it in your own blood…Let’s be stars together! At Revolution, let’s have a Hollywood Ending!”
The intensity between the two was so high that the two needed a proper blow-off to end their film.
This is another great Storm promo. Her cadence and tone are so funny yet serious and it sells the absurdity yet severity of the match perfectly. It's camp.
In easily a match-of-the-year contender that should have main-evented, Storm and May put each other through Hell and then some.
They bled and bled, fist-fought with glass knuckles, and put on an absolute masterpiece. Storm would come out the victor, and the two got their proper Hollywood Ending. It was gory. It was dramatic. It was violent. It was a bit romantic. It was Cinema. The match got 5 stars from Dave Meltzer and is considered by many as one of the best women’s matches to happen in North America. If this was the Oscars, it’d be a clean sweep.
It cannot be overstated how monumental this over year-long angle was for the women’s division. I’m struggling to think of a women’s storyline in the company that got this much amount of time and effort and was this damn creative. Storm was able to elevate May as well by giving her a huge platform out the gate and helping her reach the top in record time.
Storm and May truly deserve their flowers for everything they’ve created with this storyline. It had everything you could ever want in a good movie. Romance. Betryal. Action. A satisfying ending.
Take a bow, ladies.
The Three faces of Toni:
One of my favorite things Storm has said, and she’s come up with a lot of great quotes, is “They say the hardest role you will ever play is yourself”.
And perhaps there is nothing more true for Storm than this.
While she’s always been charismatic and passionate her whole career, you cannot deny that the timeless persona has been her most successful venture yet. Not just in terms of championships but in impact, popularity, and influence. Storm is the leader the women’s division needs right now to take them to the next level. The division is looking much better now than it was when Storm arrived. The women are on fire right now, and Storm certainly paved the way for this to happen.
Everything about the character has been so well done, as Storm is fully immersed in this role. Such as challenging Wendi Richter to match, telling her "I’m gonna fuck you up!”
And the references have been so fun. The May and Storm feud seems to be heavily based on the movie All About Eve, a movie about a young fan who maneuvers herself into a successful but aging Broadway star's life, intending to take her spot. Storm also takes inspiration from Sunset Boulevard, which is about a former silent-film star who draws a screenwriter into her fantasy world, where she dreams of making a return to the screen. (And, in the movie, there is a devoted butler, too!)
But besides the film references, the introspection and "fourth wall breaks" have been particularly interesting.
“How long do I have to do this? Week after week, night after night, before you realize that I am the one who is transcending this business. Just because I don’t go out there and say it doesn’t mean it's not true. So I do really have to tell you every single night. Are you that thick? Hmm? Too busy chasing people blithring about goosebumps and levels and storytelling and cinema- go see a fucking movie.”
Storm is the very definition of cinema. Of storytelling. Of artistry. She shows up every week to add to her impressive filmography, honing her craft and showing why she's one of the best in the world.
The timeless persona has helped Storm become a 4x women’s champion, the company’s first, and in 2024, she was PWI’s number 1 women’s wrestler of the year. Recently, Storm closed out the end of a Dynamite and then performed in the main event of the next show. Her promos are the highlight of any show she's on. She is must watch television.
She is able to do comedy, earnestness, and heart-breaking dramatics flawlessly, and she is just a joy to watch. She's innovated the entire game and continues to show why she truly gets wrestling. She has a fantastic mind that any company would be daft not to listen to.
While in reality, Storm isn’t a 50s movie starlet, it’s still her humor, charisma, and charm that make everything work so naturally. Everything she says I am completely convinced of. I truly believe she is from a different era. She is "Timeless" Toni Storm and it’s so hard to imagine she was anything but this. Yet, in every promo you can still see that young girl from Australlia just happy to be here. I can see that goofiness and ability to make everyone around her laugh by just being herself.
The character’s success isn’t Storm’s failure in playing herself. Quite the contrary, really. I’d say playing an actress is the most authentic Storm’s been in her career yet.
“I am the one taking this company to new heights, and I don’t even try to. I’m just being me, and it’s the greatest thing I could ever be... For every one of you who saw me all those years ago and thought she has potential, you had absolutely no idea it was going to get this good, did you?”
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