I was a bit worried tonight, as I usually am when it comes to the AEW women’s division since the TBS Championship match pitting Mercedes Mone against Anna Jay opened the show – and obviously, Mone was coming out of that on top. I thought we’d only see that much from the division tonight, plus the short Mariah May promo (rather than a full-on confrontation) where she ran down Thunder Rosa and the Tijuana Street Fight at Worlds End. I even had the lack of a May vs. Rosa face-to-face confrontation, and the lack of Toni Storm on “Dynamite,” written down as a “hated” thought for this article.
Then, finally, AEW gave me a breath of fresh air and Storm (wow, is it difficult to not call her “Timeless”) appeared in a short, but effective segment of her own, alongside RJ City. The segment was even given a name, “Toni Storm: Portrait of a Rockstar,” so I’m sure we’re going to be getting more of these going forward. It’s long been rumored that RJ City wrote, or helped write and produce, at least, the “Timeless” Toni Storm gimmick and segments alongside Storm herself, and just thinking about that made me laugh a bit to myself when she introduced herself to him. This little sit-down interview was short and to the point, driving the entire amnesia angle home even more, if you haven’t seen Storm’s work on “AEW Rampage” and “AEW Collision.” RJ City was there to ask all of the questions that we have as fans, like “Can you explain where you’ve been?” leading into Storm’s history with AEW, to which she exclaimed that she’s seen every show. As for being a three-time Women’s Champion? Storm declared it was a little too soon to be thinking like that.
RJ City then rattled off a list of names who Storm had feuded with in the past, including Saraya, and Mercedes Mone (which doesn’t exactly fit in the timeline Storm is portraying, as she was still Sasha Banks back then, but it’s fine, I can suspended my disbelief even further, especially with AEW not wanting to bring the Banks character up), finally mentioned Mariah May. Storm gave just enough pause that it made me think that maybe RJ had gotten through to her, but she gasped a bit and simply said, “Best in the business.”
I absolutely love where Storm and AEW are going with this character, who seemingly has amnesia after losing her championship in AEW, then going on to lose in different promotions across the globe, only to revert to her old gimmick without realizing it. This isn’t being rushed, either, which I’m really liking so far. May is facing off against Rosa at Worlds End, leaving plenty of time for May and Storm to go face-to-face once again in the new year. That gives time for Storm to either remember, or possibly go into her own Mariah May era to make things even more interesting.
Written by Daisy Ruth