Tony Khan just gave fans the biggest update yet on Toni Storm’s mysterious AEW absence, and there’s finally some good news. While he still won’t say exactly when she’ll return, Khan confirmed that the former AEW Women’s World Champion will be back and already teased what could be waiting for her.
Speaking during the post-AEW WrestleDream media scrum, Khan addressed Storm’s lengthy absence from television. He admitted that she’s been missed but praised the rest of AEW’s women’s division for stepping up while she’s been gone.
“The former World Champion, Timeless Toni Storm. I know we’ve been missing her, and just everyone’s been doing fantastic. The division has seen the locker room step up in the absence of the former World Champion.”
Khan also pointed to Mercedes Moné’s run as AEW Women’s World Champion while discussing how the division has moved forward without Storm. Still, he made it pretty clear that Storm hasn’t been forgotten behind the scenes.
“We have a great World Champion in Mercedes. Toni Storm is on a lot of our minds, and I can’t say when or where, but I know she will be back in AEW and looking to get payback on whoever it was who took her out.”
That’s a pretty important confirmation considering how strange Storm’s disappearance has been. She was originally scheduled to face Marina Shafir in a No Holds Barred match on the March 18 episode of Dynamite, only for AEW to suddenly pull her from the match.
Instead, Storm was shown laid out backstage in a pool of blood as part of a mystery attacker angle. Mina Shirakawa replaced her against Shafir, while AEW used the attack to explain why Storm was suddenly gone.
Dave Meltzer later reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that AEW only learned about Storm’s situation on the day of the show. More importantly, he said whatever caused her extended absence wasn’t an injury.
“So on the Toni Storm thing, the — you know, it appears that she’s not going to be wrestling for a long, long time. And this was something that they found out on Wednesday. It was not an injury or anything like that.”
The change was apparently so sudden that Storm had still been expected to wrestle until AEW was forced to come up with an emergency angle and put Shirakawa into the match instead.
“And you know, like on Wednesday she’s there — she is set up to wrestle in this match — and they had to do this emergency angle to take her out and put Mina Shirakawa in.”
Months later, Khan still isn’t revealing what has kept Storm away or putting a date on her comeback. What he is finally confirming is that this isn’t the end of Timeless Toni Storm in AEW, and the mystery attack that wrote her off television is apparently still waiting to be settled.
That also gives Storm’s eventual return a ready-made storyline whenever the time comes. AEW still hasn’t revealed who attacked her, and Khan is already promising that Storm will be looking for revenge once she’s finally back.
Who do you think should be revealed as Toni Storm’s mystery attacker when she eventually returns to AEW? Let us know in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
