10 Wrestlers Who Went To Extreme Lengths To Join AEW
6. Toni Storm Freaks Out And Goes Home... And Eventually To AEW
In the wake of picking up a 2018 Mae Young Classic victory and holding the NXT UK Women's Championship for a spell, a 2020-2021 run on the U.S. black and gold brand set the stage for Toni Time to finally officially make its way onto the WWE main roster.
Yet, it was during said few months post-call-up that Toni Storm quickly realised the company she thought she'd needed to be a part of for much of her life wasn't actually for her after all. And in an eventual conversation with Busted Open Radio, on the back of "the stress of not seeing family in years and then just so many overwhelming things all at once", Storm would go on to note:
"I guess I just freaked out and went home,"
It must be said that the star didn't actively pursue an AEW contract upon asking for her WWE release, but being pushed to the point of wanting out of WWE due to her built up frustrations with the promotion did make her realise one very important thing:
"...over time I realized it's just pro wrestling that I love, it's not a company that I love."
Enter Tony Khan with an All Elite contract, and as Storm herself put it, "a second chance, an opportunity to really do what I love, which is pro wrestling."