Both Tony Khan and AEW fans are known to welcome new stars with open hands. There are a lot of stories of people reigniting their passion for wrestling after joining AEW and it appears Toni Storm had a similar experience.
The AEW president recently had an interview with Rasslin. He discussed things such as the future of ROH, FTR and more.
Talking about Storm’s AEW debut, Khan revealed that she was very relieved after her debut match. He claimed that he loves having the former WWE star in AEW:
“She said, this has brought back her love of wrestling already. The way she reacted when she came through the curtain after the match.
I don’t know if I have ever seen somebody more relieved to have wrestled a match than Toni Storm. After taking the 90 days off she came back in great shape, she looks great, she is a great person, I love having her in AEW.”
Toni asked for her release from her WWE contract back in December last year. She then made her AEW debut in March.
The female star made her first AEW appearance during the March 30 episode of Dynamite. She defeated The Bunny to qualify for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.
Chris Jericho recalled the time he initially wanted to start a faction with Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley.
Jericho used to be the leader of the Inner Circle before he and Jake Hager turned on Santana and Ortiz. He now runs the “Jericho Appreciation Society” where the emphasis is on sports entertainment. He is joined by Hager, Daniel Garcia, “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard, and “Cool Hand Ang” Angelo Parker.
Chris Jericho Initially Wanted Faction With Kingston & Moxley
Chris Jericho appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio and revealed that he once had an idea to start a faction with Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley (via Fightful).
“I’d love to be able to tell you that I had this big overarching plan that was put into place in November when we started doing this thing with Eddie Kingston and I. It wasn’t. It was just reading the room and evolving.
“My original idea was for maybe, Eddie, and (Jon) Moxley to be an alliance as babyfaces. I never really thought about turning heel. I always had this real romantic idea of never breaking up the Inner Circle and having us be together until the end. Once we started rolling and moving, I realized there was a lot we could do with it.
“When we were in Bridgeport, Connecticut, we had a promo and Eddie came out there and was like, ‘I don’t know why I’m out here. This is pro wrestling, not sports entertainment, if you want that, go down the block.’ People just responded with a huge half cheer, half boo disdain for ‘sports entertainment.’ I was like, ‘Oh, oh, our fanbase doesn’t like that term. Interesting.’
“Then the wheels go into motion and you start thinking of ‘maybe we can do something like this.’ The sports entertainment thing came from listening to the fans and realizing, ‘they don’t like this, I do. I’m a sports entertainer at heart. Let’s talk about it and make it a thing on screen,’ and that’s what we did.”
Jericho’s current group is in a feud with Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz. Sammy Guevara was able to avoid being caught in the crossfire of the Inner Circle split as he left the group before it imploded.
The early success of All Elite Wrestling has created a situation where the top wrestlers in North America (and the world) now have multiple paths to stardom and financial security.
A second national wrestling promotion taking off in the way that AEW has was always the best possible scenario for a wrestling world that had essentially operated with WWE as the only national game in town for nearly 20 years.
Competition means better contracts and more opportunities for the wrestlers themselves, and we’re already starting to see some of this reality come to fruition with the arrivals of names like Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Adam Cole and Samoa Joe signing with AEW, while Kevin Owens got a haul of a contract to stay with WWE and Cody Rhodes returned there.
Speaking in an interview with ESPN, AEW President Tony Khan acknowledged that bidding wars are sure to take place between the two companies in the years ahead.
“Yeah, I am (expecting a bidding war),” Khan said. “We have a lot of great wrestlers here. I expect there probably will be down the road interest in some of them, because we’re putting on such strong shows. I think there’s bound to be free-agent movement. On both sides of the competition. I think it’s great for the wrestlers.”
There are several names who have achieved stardom early on with AEW who one could see WWE making big offers for when their contracts are up. WWE has already been rumored to be interested in MJF, and how could they not be interested in a Jade Cargill down the line? Plus, people like Wardlow, Darby Allin, and even some of AEW’s founding fathers like the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega could be in play down the road.
One thing is for certain: This is the best time to be a wrestling fan in North America in many years. A successful WWE and AEW is best for both the business and the wrestling fan base itself. The promoters will be readying up to pay to keep things in their favor.
Make sure to check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.
Wheeler Yuta is on the rise and he credits the competitiveness of the AEW locker room for his urge to “level up.”
Yuta has emerged as quite the prospect. He captured the ROH Pure Championship against Josh Woods at the Supercard of Honor event on April 1. He followed that up with a highly-praised match against Jon Moxley on the April 8 episode of AEW Rampage.
Wheeler Yuta Lauds AEW’s Competitiveness
During an appearance on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio, Wheeler Yuta told Dave LaGreca and Mark Henry that he can’t afford to slack off in AEW.
“AEW is such a competitive environment but in the best way possible. It’s very positive and uplifting but there’s just so much talent that you have no choice but to either level up or get left behind.
“So, I think being put in that environment has really helped me out and it’s allowed me to grow as both a wrestler and just a human being, being around all of these people that I respect so much and who have done it for years and years.
“It’s an environment where you really have to get stronger, get better, or else you’re gonna get left behind. So, being in AEW I think has been the best thing for my career, hands down.”
On AEW TV, Yuta has found himself fighting for the respect of the Blackpool Combat Club. He made significant progress after William Regal shook his hand following a war against Moxley.
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Tony Khan remains in disbelief over WWE’s decision to release Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland.
AEW hasn’t been shy in bringing in talent that once worked under the WWE banner. The likes of CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, Christian Cage, and many more once made a name for themselves within Vince McMahon’s empire.
There are some talents that WWE decided to drop, leaving fans puzzled. Heck, it’s even left Khan confused.
Tony Khan Surprised Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland Hit The Market
Tony Khan appeared on Barstool Rasslin’ and he admitted that he never envisioned a scenario where both Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland would be released by WWE (h/t Fightful).
“Also, speaking of established stars coming in, Swerve Strickland and right before that Keith Lee. I can’t believe these guys got fired by any wrestling company in the world.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re thinking if you run a wrestling company and you don’t have a spot for Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee. I get that there are only so many positions in a company but I think any company that has those guys and, you know, it wasn’t like they’re unreasonable guys. They’re great!
“I love both guys. They’ve been a huge part of what we’re doing here now, too.”
On AEW TV, Lee and Strickland have actually formed a duo at least for this feud with Team Taz. Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs have been thorns in the sides of Lee and Strickland, so something has to give.
Lee and Strickland will team to take on Starks and Hobbs on the April 13 episode of Dynamite.
Mark Henry says we haven’t seen the last of Cesaro. The AEW broadcaster, coach and talent scout says wrestling fans will be very pleased when the Swiss Superman resurfaces.
In addition to his duties in AEW, Henry serves as a co-host of Busted Open Radio on SiriusXM. He dropped an interesting quote on Saturday morning’s episode.
“Believe me, there will be a Cesaro sighting, just not right now,” said Henry.
“When that day comes, the world of pro wrestling is gonna be like, ‘Holy cow, like, that’s the guy we always wanted to see.’”
– Mark Henry on Cesaro’s future
Cesaro departed WWE in late February 2022 after over a decade with the company. WWE attempted to re-sign Cesaro, but they were unable to reach an agreement. He is not bound by a 90-day non-compete.
Cesaro has long been regarded as one of the top wrestlers in the world. He achieved some success in WWE, but most wrestling fans and industry observers would agree he was underutilized throughout his run there.
It will be interesting to see if Cesaro finds his way to AEW. He has a long history with many AEW stars from their days in WWE, as well as in Ring of Honor and on the independent scene.
Several AEW performers have already acknowledged the prospect of Cesaro joining AEW. Former rival Eddie Kingston has already stated that Cesaro “Doesn’t Have The Balls” to join him in AEW.
Earlier this week, Dax Harwood re-tweeted this photo pitching a tag team dream match between FTR and the Kings of Wrestling (Cesaro and Chris Hero).
Credit to the Putting You Over podcast for sending in this tip.
Samoa Joe will battle Minoru Suzuki on Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite. Suzuki’s Ring of Honor World Television Championship will be on the line.
AEW President Tony Khan noted on Twitter that this is a match he’s dreamed of for many years.
Suzuki and Joe are two of the hardest-hitting wrestlers in the world. You can talk about “working stiff” but this match is sure to be a masters class in two veteran fighters beating the hell out of each other.
Tony Khan says an expensive online misinformation campaign has been launched against AEW.
Khan revealed on Friday that an independent study has confirmed an online “bot army” has been deployed on social media to stir up negative social media activity against All Elite Wrestling.
According to Khan, some company is running “thousands” of Twitter accounts and uses “an army of bots” to signal-boost the anti-AEW tweets.
“Look closely, these aren’t real people.”
– Tony Khan
Khan didn’t explicitly accuse WWE of being behind this online campaign, but he asked his followers to consider, “Who’d pay for such a *wildly* expensive thing?”
We are currently in the midst of a wrestling war. WWE has legitimate competition for the first time two decades. A Wednesday Night War was waged, top stars are jumping ship and the competition is heating up.
Khan questioned, “Ever wonder why so much of the activity of these accounts is retweets and replies? Like who actually has 80% of their activity as straight up retweets?”
He encourages fans to, “Research this one yourselves. You internet detectives thrive in these situations.”
Khan doesn’t seem too phased by this revelation. He hyped up tonight’s AEW Rampage, featuring Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson in action.
Expecting the anti-AEW bots to be out in full force tonight, he wrapped up the thread by writing, “Their boiler room staff is going to be working overtime on a Friday, and I love it.”
Do you think wrestling companies engage in these shady tactics, or is this paranoid conspiracy theory nonsense?
AEW President Tony Khan spoke with Marc Raimondi for ESPN this week about the future of Ring of Honor. Khan shocked the wrestling world last month by announcing he was purchasing the company’s video library, brand assets and intellectual property.
Last weekend’s Supercard of Honor pay-per-view from Dallas, TX was the first ROH show under Khan’s control. The event was well received by wrestling fans and critics. He really tried to make it an ROH show, including cameos from ROH alums like Samoa Joe and The Young Bucks.
AEW, ROH & WarnerMedia
When asked about the short-term plans for Ring of Honor, Khan expressed uncertainty. “It’s hard to say,” he told ESPN.
Due to Tony Khan’s business relationship with WarnerMedia, AEW’s media partner in the United States, he had to get an ‘exemption’ from Warner in order to promote the Supercard PPV.
Khan says there’s great potential in continuing ROH as a weekly series, along with occasional special events.
He did not answer whether or not ROH would serve as a developmental system for AEW, but did reveal he’s had talks with WarnerMedia about what can be done with ROH.
“I think the success of Supercard, critically and commercially, will bode very well for WarnerMedia really taking an interest in Ring of Honor, as well as AEW,” he said. “I think there’s great potential to have a complementary wrestling brand.”
Booking ROH
Tony Khan has stated that he plans to be the booker of Ring Honor. However, he already has a lot of responsibilities with AEW, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC.
There is a risk that he is spreading himself too thin, but Khan said it was “very natural” for him to handle the booking for the Supercard PPV.
Visit ESPN to read the full interview with Tony Khan.
AEW President Tony Khan expects the Blood & Guts match to return this summer.
Blood & Guts is one of the most violent matches sanctioned by All Elite Wrestling. The match involves two teams squaring off inside a covered steel cage. The rules are similar to the infamous WarGames match, with submission or surrender being the only conditions for victory.
Khan spoke with Marc Raimondi for ESPN this week and was asked if we’ll see another Blood & Guts match. He replied:
“Yeah. I’d say to expect Blood & Guts this summer.”
– Tony Khan to ESPN
The first Blood & Guts saw The Pinnacle defeat the Inner Circle at the special May 5, 2021 edition of AEW Dynamite.
Tony Khan was also asked about the possibility of another Stadium Stampede match. He told Raimoni, “That I’ll have to get back to you on.”
He’s considered another Stadium Stampede match, and thinks its a great signature match that fans really enjoyed. However, the match came about from challenges that were presented during the pandemic that no longer exist.
Visit ESPN to read the full interview with Tony Khan.
AEW has been scrutinized for the high number of free agents they’ve signed over the past year. Some people have questioned if the AEW roster is too large, but Cash Wheeler of FTR says that’s nonsense.
FTR, the reigning Ring of Honor and AAA tag team champions, recently spoke with the Dallas Morning News and defended the growing number of performers on Tony Khan’s payroll.
According to Cash Wheeler, AEW is still in its infancy and should sign the most talented performers they can. Khan also just purchased Ring of Honor and now has two rosters to fill.
“When AEW started, they had to build from scratch,” said Wheeler. “And you don’t know who’s going to work on TV, who’s not going to work on TV, who the fans will accept and who they won’t.
“So, you’ve got to just sign everybody and hope after a couple years you’ve kind of got a better read on everything – what’s established, what isn’t.”
Wheeler added that you can’t plan for huge names to become free agents. If people like Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, Jeff Hardy and Samoa Joe become available, you sign them and have time to figure everything out.
“You can’t plan for things that are completely unexpected. So, some of these names that became available to him, he never could have foresaw that coming. None of us could. So, when it was available, he would be a terrible businessman to not pursue that because it’s going to make his company better. And it’s going to make his talent better because now they have another brain to pick.”
Wheeler added that AEW has a lot of young talent on the roster and they don’t need to be on television every single week. They should be working independent shows and developing their characters before they’re on national TV week after week.
There’s much more to this interview, which you can check out at DallasNews.com.
AEW programming is coming to NJPW World, the official streaming service of New Japan Pro Wrestling.
The NJPW World Twitter account announced the news on Friday morning.
Starting soon, AEW Dynamite and AEW Rampage, will stream on NJPW World at no additional charge.
According to NJPW, a “Japanese live version” is also planned, which should feature Japanese commentary.
AEW President Tony Khan issued a short but sweet statement regarding this partnership. Khan tweeted, “We did it.”
AEW and NJPW have had an informal working relationship up to this point. NJPW-contracted talent has wrestled on AEW TV. This streaming partnership broadens the working relationship between the two entities and will expose the Japanese wrestling audience to AEW like never before.
SEScoops will follow this story and let you know when AEW programming will be available on NJPW World.
PWInsider reports that CM Punk was indeed inside the Agganis Arena in Boston, MA. He was backstage despite not being on the show.
Punk scored a big victory over MJF in their Dog Collar match at Revolution back in March. He has been hinting at making a run at the AEW World Heavyweight Championship.
AEW President Tony Khan says that the process of signing Samoa Joe wasn’t a difficult one.
Joe made a surprise appearance to close out the ROH Supercard of Honor PPV. He choked Sonjay Dutt, who had just aligned himself with Jay Lethal to form a new heel duo. He then stared down Lethal, who was on the outside of the ring.
Samoa Joe is officially a member of the AEW roster. Appearing on Barstool Sports’ Rasslin’ podcast, Tony Khan said that signing Samoa Joe was smooth sailing.
“It was good. He’s a great person, he’s very reasonable and he wanted to come and I wanted him to come. So, in that sense it was pretty easy. We got everything figured out and I was really excited to bring Samoa Joe both to Ring of Honor and AEW.
“I felt like that Ring of Honor pay-per-view as a transition from an era of 20 great years of Ring of Honor, different ownerships, different bookers, different entities but frankly, one thing that was consistent was 20 years of great professional wrestling and great professional wrestlers at Ring of Honor that kept the company strong.”
Joe made his AEW debut on the April 6 episode of Dynamite. He pinned Max Caster to earn his spot in the Owen Hart Cup.
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William Regal didn’t have time to mentally prepare for his presence in AEW.
Regal had been loyal to WWE for many years and once his in-ring career began to wind down, he play a crucial role behind the scenes. He was known as Triple H’s right-hand man on the NXT brand. Once WWE decided to change the direction of NXT, Regal was released.
William Regal Was Mentally Out Of Wrestling
During an appearance on the AEW Unrestricted podcast, William Regal admitted he is still adjusting to getting back in the groove since he had checked out of wrestling entirely.
“In that two months that I was off, when I say I checked out of wrestling, I checked out of wrestling. My wrestling brain hasn’t caught up yet. I still don’t — I felt comfortable last week. I don’t feel like my wrestling brain’s in full working order yet where I could just go, ‘okay boom, boom, boom.’
“It’s not my job either but that’s — the first few weeks was go out and do my bit and then just watch. I’m still sort of here, well I started off about here because I really, really checked out.
“The first night was just a blur, an incredible experience but as much as what was going on I was still — I just did my thing and got out. Whatever else is going on in my brain I still haven’t caught up.”
Regal made his AEW debut at the Revolution PPV back in March. He now manages the team of Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson. They are known as the Blackpool Combat Club.
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It didn’t take Samoa Joe long to find his way into a tournament qualifier in AEW.
Of course, this isn’t your average tourney. This is the Owen Hart Cup. Joe will be in a qualifier match against Max Caster on the April 6 episode of Dynamite.
“Arriving last week at ROH Supercard Of Honor, Samoa Joe is signed with AEW & has said that he plans to dominate! Samoa Joe debuts in AEW vs. Max Caster in an Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Qualifier Bout on AEW Dynamite LIVE @ 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS Network TOMORROW night!”
As Khan mentioned, Joe made a surprise appearance to close out Supercard of Honor on April 1. The AEW boss later confirmed that Joe is All Elite.
Joe made his intentions clear to media members. He hopes to hold both the AEW World Heavyweight Championship and the ROH World Championship.
The in-ring return of Paul Wight, along with seven other matches, has been confirmed for tonight’s episode of AEW Dark: Elevation. Wight will be facing off against Austin Green on a show that was taped last Wednesday from the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina, which just so happens to be Wight’s hometown.
Wight is undefeated in AEW since signing with the company back in February of 2021. He made his in-ring debut for AEW against QT Marshall, securing the win at All Out last September. He then emerged victorious from a 3-on-1 handicap match at Elevation against CPA, RSP and VSK last September. Wight won another 3-on-1 handicap match against Cole Karter, Carlie Bravo and Arjun Singh the following month.
Tonight will be his fourth match with the company since then. You can check out the full lineup for tonight’s AEW Dark: Elevation here below:
Red Velvet vs. Brittany Jade
Serena Deeb vs. Dani Mo
Leyla Hirsch vs. Ella Envy
Anna Jay and Ruby Soho vs. Diamante and Ashley D’Amboise
QT Marshall and Aaron Solo vs. Brock Anderson and Lee Johnson
Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta vs. JD Drake and Anthony Henry
Cody Rhodes has been making the media rounds since returning to WWE at WrestleMania Saturday.
While speaking with Ariel Helwani in an interview released on Sunday, Rhodes said he wasn’t satisfied being the gatekeeper in AEW. He didn’t want to be the guy that feuds with a new star. Instead, he wanted to wrestle new people and got to do that.
Rhodes also reiterated comments about not wanting to be just a “15-time TNT champ” in AEW. He started to get the sense that he has more to accomplish.
Rhodes mentioned in a previous interview with Variety that there was a personal matter between him and AEW President Tony Khan that they were unable to get past.
“Unfortunately, I can’t comment on the personal matter itself. Tony Khan, who I have genuine respect for and I hope history is really kind to because he bankrolled this entire grassroots movement that was starting in ROH and then All In happened, then, of course, AEW happened and then he was able to buy that footage back. I felt like we were drifting apart.
It just genuinely felt like it was time. I can’t comment on the personal nature of it but it was nothing nefarious or scandalous, just we couldn’t agree. Nothing but respect for him, his family, the infrastructure there.”
Rhodes added that the personal issue between him and Khan was nothing sensational. He’s unsure if he’ll ever share what happened, but it wasn’t anything crazy.
“It just was a rather easy decision. Hard, and hard to explain to the fans, which we didn’t, and hard to explain to the talent because one week I was there and the next week Ricky Starks and QT [Marshall] are bringing in bags and getting all my stuff out of the box and making the biggest scene they possibly could instead of being discreet as I asked them to. I had a wonderful experience there and I feel the experience had maxed out. You never want to start getting into a situation where the love goes away.”
Cody Rhodes made his big WWE return at WWE WrestleMania 38 where he beat Seth Rollins. The former AEW star spoke with Variety about what his return to WWE means, why he decided to depart from AEW, and more.
Regarding how he is feeling about the return, he described having various feelings from happy, excitement, pressure, responsibility, all of it. He thinks it’s kind of a culmination of his whole career and it’s returning to him in something he built and nobody else. He called it the “ultimate vindication.”
Rhodes On What He Told Key WWE Officials
“I told Vince McMahon, Bruce Prichard and Nick Khan — this very small circle of individuals — I told them what I truly believe and it’s that I’m the best wrestler in the world. And to go further with it, I actually don’t think there’s a close second. But with that said, the opportunity now exists to prove it, and that’s what I’m most excited about.
It’s a completely different individual returning to the game. It’s a different brand. It’s someone who’s experienced all the wonders of independent wrestling, of traveling internationally, of being able to get on the ground with the fans that make this whole ship move. But different person or not, I’m still that little kid that I mentioned in an AEW promo that wants what my dad didn’t get, and I’m not going to say it out loud because I don’t want to jinx it. But, you know, he went to Madison Square Garden, stood across from Superstar Billy Graham and he held it in his hands, the goal of mine, and it was taken away because that was the context of the match. I understand that now as an adult, but as a kid, that was the only reason I ever wanted to get in, so that I could get what he didn’t get.”
Rhodes On His AEW Departure
Rhodes stated that there is nothing bad to say about how his AEW run came to end. At the end of the day, it was all about him feeling like it was time to leave a company he helped launch in 2019 alongside Tony Khan, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks.
“I chose to remain silent about my departure from AEW and I’m going to keep my word on that. There’s no shoot interview. There’s no nefarious tale that’s going to be told. There were all these different theories and none of them are correct. I mean, there were things about money and creative control. They were printed as fact and it’s been a very difficult two months to see that, when the reality is it was just time. It was a personal matter and we couldn’t move past it. I have nothing but respect for Matt [Jackson], Nick [Jackson] and Kenny [Omega]. I’m rooting for Tony Khan. His name is going to be in the history books as someone who helped to bankroll and support this entire alternative and revolution that AEW became but for me, it was just time to to move on. I get an opportunity at my dream, I get another chance at it. And you really can’t leave any stone unturned with that.”
Tony Khan had promised a big show-closing surprise to the fans attending the Supercard Of Honor event and he delivered with the Samoan Submission Machine.
The main event of the first ROH PPV under the new owner saw Jonathan Gresham defeating Bandido to become the Undisputed ROH champion.
Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt however, hindered his championship celebration. They attacked the champion and Lethal stood tall with the belt.
Samoa Joe then made a surprise appearance. Lethal escaped the former NXT star but Joe choked out Dutt to end the show.
Tony Khan took on his Twitter to announce that the wrestling veteran has signed with All Elite Wrestling. He also revealed that the former world champion will be making an appearance on Dynamite this coming Wednesday:
Samoa Joe is the longest-reigning world champion in the history of ROH. He was the third world champion of the promotion and he held the title for a record 645 days.
The heavyweight star had been a part of the WWE roster since 2015. He won the NXT title three times during his tenure. Joe was released from his contract in January earlier this year.
Toni Storm has officially signed with All Elite Wrestling. The former NXT UK Women’s Champion made her debut on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite as AEW President Tony Khan’s latest mystery signing.
She beat The Bunny in the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament qualifying match with her finisher.
Shortly after her match on Dynamite, AEW welcomed her to the team with the official graphic, Toni Storm is #AllElite.
Storm signed with WWE in 2018 after working the 2017 edition of the Mae Young Classic. She was used mainly on the NXT UK brand. She won the 2018 Mae Young Classic and later became the NXT UK Women’s Champion.
In 2020, Storm was used on the NXT brand before going to the main roster this past July on an episode of SmackDown.
Storm had been working WWE house shows including at a live event in which she was part of a triple threat match with Sasha Banks and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair just days before she asked for her WWE release. It was granted and she had been waiting out her 90-day non-compete clause.
Since being on the free agent market, she opened an OnlyFans account. Toni Storm’s OnlyFans account has been very lucrative for her already.
Anthony Bowens will be missing some time due to an injury.
AEW President Tony Khan broke the news during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio (h/t 411Mania):
“I really like Anthony a great deal. He’s been injured. We don’t think it’s anything too long-term, but the truth is, he was supposed to be back by now and that’s jammed me up the last couple weeks in planning. He’s been out almost a month and they originally thought it was going to be two weeks. It’s been a few weeks I’ve been looking forward to bringing him back. He’s recovering from what is hopefully a short-term knee injury.“
Bowens is still advertised to be in Max Caster’s corner for the March 30 episode of AEW Dynamite.
2 of the top orators in pro wrestling today will go one-on-one in the ring when @CMPunk battles @PlatinumMax on Dynamite TONIGHT! What will Caster say in his entrance rap? Can Punk shut Max’s big mouth?
Bowens is one-half of The Acclaimed along with Caster. He was last seen in action teaming with Caster to challenge Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus for the AEW World Tag Team Championships on March 9.
There have been ‘at least light talks and gauging interest’ between the AEW officials and Ember Moon.
The former NXT women’s champion who now goes by the name Athena has apparently been very selective about her indie bookings since her release in November last year.
One name that doesn’t seem very likely to join AEW in the immediate future is Tegan Nox. She has been dealing with visa issues since her own WWE release in the same month as Athena.
While she could still show up in Tony Khan’s promotion at some point, the star now going by the name Nixon Newell was ‘very busy’ trying to sort out the situation as of a couple of weeks ago.
Which star would you like to see debut in AEW this Wednesday against The Bunny? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
Fightful reports that Storm has garnered “significant interest” from the promotion. It’s been said that even a chunk of AEW talent expects Storm to make her way to the company.
Many wondered what Storm’s next move would be. A potential return to Stardom has been made a bit tough by pandemic measures in Japan, although restrictions are being eased.
AEW was the top destination many have had in mind for Storm. It looks like it could soon come to fruition.
