Toni Storm debuted in All Elite Wrestling on the 30th Match edition of Dynamite.
The former WWE NXT UK Women’s Champion answered an open challenge against The Bunny in a qualifier for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. Speculation had mounted about exactly who might fill the role, with the Australian star pitched as as the heavy favourite.
Storm was victorious over The Butcher & The Blade's aide after nailing her with a vicious pulling piledriver. Storm is the first person to qualify for the tournament, though the full brackets have yet to be confirmed. Tony Khan excitedly tweeted "It’s TONI STORM!" as she made her way to the ring, with the typical All Elite graphic surely soon to follow.
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Storm requested her release from WWE in January 2022 having been unhappy with her creative during a SmackDown Women’s Championship feud with Charlotte Flair. She’s been in the WWE system five years, having worked the Mae Young Classic in 2017 before moving to NXT UK followed by the US black and gold brand and eventually SmackDown.
More on the full details her status with AEW as and when we learn them.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
