Toni Storm is expected to be away from AEW for a long time, and reports say her absence is not due to an injury.
Storm had been in a heated feud with Marina Shafir. She defeated Shafir at AEW Revolution, but the situation escalated when Ronda Rousey made a surprise appearance, leading to a chaotic brawl. Shortly after, Shafir attacked Storm again.
The situation got worse when Storm was scheduled for a match against Marina Shafir on AEW Dynamite but was attacked backstage before it could begin. Mina Shirakawa stepped in to replace her and won the match.
AEW Made Emergency Change After Toni Storm Situation
Reports reveal that AEW only found out about Storm’s situation on the day of the show. Because of this, they quickly changed plans and removed her from the match. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, the company had to create an emergency angle to write her off TV.
He said, “On the Toni Storm thing, it appears she’s not gonna 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. 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. They, on the day, on Wednesday, earliest Wednesday morning, certainly all day Tuesday, they were under the impression that she was going to be wrestling.” [H/T: Cultaholic]
Bryan Alvarez initially reported she would be out long-term, and Fightful Select later confirmed her write-off wasn’t just storyline. AEW reportedly does not expect her back in the ring anytime soon.
This situation has also affected AEW’s plans, especially after Ronda Rousey’s debut seemed to set up a future program with Storm. Despite her absence, AEW is continuing the storyline and plans to reveal who attacked Storm on-screen.
For now, Storm’s return timeline remains unclear, and fans may have to wait a long time before seeing her back in action.
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