WINC Watchlist: Toni Storm’s Best Matches

“Timeless” Toni Storm has achieved a lot already in her profession, despite the indisputable fact that she has only recently turned 30 years of age. She is one among the last truly great gimmicks within the business, fully believing that she is a Hollywood starlet from a bygone era while also having more confidence than many of the AEW roster combined. Storm’s unique character has made her not only one of the crucial popular women’s wrestlers on this planet, but genuinely one of the crucial popular wrestlers in AEW itself.

Already a four-time AEW Women’s World Champion, Storm has won gold everywhere in the world as she originally got her big breaks in corporations like STARDOM in Japan, wXw in Germany, and PROGRESS in the UK. Her international success throughout the 2010s landed her a WWE which resulted in Storm winning the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament, and having an eight month run because the WWE NXT UK Women’s Champion, but while her run on the WWE important roster didn’t exactly go to plan, everyone knew that she had numerous success waiting for her in the longer term.

Storm has now been in AEW for 4 years and has done almost every little thing there may be to do in All Elite Wrestling. She’s one among the numerous wrestlers to make the jump from WWE to AEW and have lots more success in her latest environment, to the purpose where she ranks alongside the likes of Jon Moxley and Swerve Strickland as one of the crucial necessary signings in AEW’s short history. 

We’re already deep into International Women’s Month and we have been detailing a few of the most effective matches from the careers of the most well-liked females within the business. Toni Storm already has a wealthy catalogue of classics under her belt, and it’s extremely likely that an inventory like this will likely be outdated in just a few years time as Storm will give us many more nights to recollect. So without further ado, listed here are a few of the biggest matches from the strange profession of “Timeless” Toni Storm!

Having recently rewatched WWE NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day from 2021, one among the things that I discovered myself considering coming out of that show was that Toni Storm and Io Shirai must have really had a singles match as an alternative of a Triple Threat Match featuring Mercedes Martinez for the WWE NXT Women’s Championship. The makings of an excellent match were in there when Storm and Shirai shared the ring, but there was just something missing. Nevertheless, these two women had quite a few battles before they each arrived in WWE, and this bout from the Spring of 2017 is one among their finest. 

Heading into this match, Storm and Shirai had a pair of matches against one another in 2016 where they fought over the SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship. Each women picked up one win each but were mainly kept apart after their second bout. It was clear that STARDOM saw big things in Storm as the following major foreign ace of the corporate, but could she be the one to finish Shirai’s near 17 month reign because the World of STARDOM Champion? The “Genius of the Sky” was already being linked away from STARDOM despite carrying the red belt around for nearly a year-and-a-half, so when the rubber match between Storm and Shirai took place, numerous people thought they might see a changing of the guard, but that is not happened.

As a substitute, these two women beat the hell out of one another for 30 straight minutes, with Shirai barely escaping along with her title. In truth, this was the match that prevented Shirai from competing within the inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament in WWE. The Storm Zero she took within the closing moments legitimately injured her neck to the purpose where the match looked prefer it was going to be stopped, which was probably the bottom point of the match. Shirai was down for nearly 40 seconds but Storm never ended up winning because she wanted the pinfall win and kept interrupting the referee’s count. The referee would then restart the count every time which was a bit annoying, but when it was going to a 30 minute deadline draw, they needed an excuse to maintain the clock ticking over. 

Outside of that down time, this match is implausible. Genuinely among the best matches Storm ever had in Japan, and it was capped off with an excellent final couple of minutes. Despite her injury, Shirai threw every little thing into her Moonsaults, one among which was countered by Storm who got her boots up in a moment that looked truly nasty. Storm thought she had the win by having Shirai locked in a submission, however the deadline expired which kept each women strong. If you happen to ever wondered where the hype surrounding each Storm and Shirai got here from, go and watch their STARDOM matches and marvel at how impressive each women were so early of their careers.

By the summer of 2019, Toni Storm was a reputation known the world over. She had finally made it to WWE and won the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament, but Storm wasn’t a full-time member of the “WWE NXT” roster, as an alternative wrestling in “WWE NXT UK” until after the COVID-19 pandemic. Considered one of the plus points for Storm and the remaining of the “NXT UK” roster was that after they were still allowed to wrestle on the independent scene and internationally in the event that they selected to. This allowed Storm to have yet another match with a girl many considered to be the ultimate boss of Joshi wrestling.

Meiko Satomura is one of the crucial legendary wrestlers to ever come out of Japan, and within the late 2010s, she was finally getting her well overdue flowers as her Sendai Girls promotion was gaining momentum, and the indisputable fact that she had also been featured commonly on WWE TV. She had crossed paths with Storm multiple times by the point Sendai Girls arrived in the UK, including within the semi-finals of the Mae Young Classic that Storm would go on and win, but would the consequence be different when Satomura is on home turf?

The very first thing to notice once you watch this match is the group, they’ve had lots to drink. The sound of “LET’S GO TONI/LET’S GO MEIKO!” will likely be scorched into your eardrums as the group don’t let up in letting each women know the way much they love each of them. It does get to the purpose where you may tell the group are only attempting to get themselves over slightly than having fun with the match, but Storm and Satomura don’t rush things to maintain everyone engaged. They work at their very own pace, and thru their work just being that good, the group go from cheering drunkenly at each women to actively cheering each of them on because the match reaches different gears.

Satomura was all the time a implausible striker even at this stage of her profession and that was on full display here, along with her Step Up Axe Kick really being a thing of beauty. Nevertheless, Storm is greater than able to throwing some nasty Lariats to indicate that she is not going to be taken evenly. The match does attempt to be technical within the early going, but it is a match where the bombs start falling and all hell breaks loose. Storm is in a position to sustain with the physicality of Satomura, while Satomura is in a position to sustain with the speed of Storm. That’s until the ultimate moments where Satomura gets caught and takes three Storm Zero Piledrivers, and a Tiger Bomb (which is was also generally known as a Storm Zero in WWE), which finally puts Satomura away. Now that Satomura is retired, that is the ultimate match these two women will ever have together, but what a fun time it was.

After her run with WWE didn’t go based on plan, Toni Storm was in a position to have a fresh start in 2022 when she officially signed with All Elite Wrestling. The ladies’s division in AEW had all the time been (and to an extent still is) the weakest point of the corporate as the feminine roster just weren’t given the identical level of opportunities that their male counterparts did. Nevertheless, once you bring someone with the pedigree of Storm on board, it helps everyone as she helps every woman she faces recuperate.

Take this match with Jamie Hayter from Full Gear 2022 for instance. Hayter had quietly change into one of the crucial consistent performers in the corporate on the time, and with the fans clamoring for some fresh blood at the highest of the cardboard, it was right down to Storm to do the honors and provides Hayter her crowning moment. What helped between these two was that Storm and Hayter were so close outside of the ring, they even lived together throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, they usually each had similar profession paths of taking their talents to Japan while calling the European indie scene their homes.

Unless my memory is failing me, which may be very plausible as age catches up with me, this was the most effective AEW women’s match on pay-per-view up thus far. There had been quite a few great matches on TV, however the pay-per-view offerings all the time looked as if it would fall a little bit in need of the mark as they were just left to do a great/superb TV style match amongst the pay-per-view epics that surrounded them. This was an excellent exception, only a hard-hitting fight between two women who knew one another so well. Hayter is the fan favorite despite playing the heel role, which leads her to return across as arrogantly cool slightly than obnoxious. For instance, she gets into it with referee Paul Turner but finally ends up shaking his hand apologizing for her behavior, all while she is booting Storm at the back of the top.

The inclusion of Rebel and Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. to assist Hayter recover from the road actually advantages the match slightly than hindering it since it results in some great false finishes, like if Baker and Rebel can not help her then is that this just not going to be her night? The group are alive for the near falls and it changes from politely having fun with the match to being actually engaged, making the entire match feel more exciting as well. That is more of a Jamie Hayter match than a Toni Storm match if we’re being honest, but Storm does so well in making every little thing feel as nerve-wrecking because it becomes by the tip of it. Hayter gets her moment, Storm is kept strong, and the AEW women’s division finally after three years has a pay-per-view classic under their belts.

Well who didn’t see this one coming?

This match only just celebrated its one 12 months anniversary and already it has been talked about a lot. The Hollywood Ending from AEW Revolution 2025 won the Match of the 12 months in our own awards here at Wrestling Inc., with the Toni Storm/Mariah May feud itself also picking up Feud of the 12 months, so we obviously hold it in high regard. With that said, numerous people even have numerous love for the ultimate chapter between Storm and May, and rewatching it again, it’s really easy to like.

That is two women being absolute bad b****** on the largest stage available to them. Should it have been the important event? After all it should! The indisputable fact that it wasn’t the important event is up there as one among the largest missed opportunities in AEW’s short history. I do not buy that Mariah leaving to go to WWE was the explanation this match wasn’t the important event because she didn’t debut in “WWE NXT” until three months later, and by that time Storm had already moved on to different rivals. I do buy the concept that Adam “Cope” Copeland really desired to important event yet another pay-per-view for a world title before he inevitably drops back right down to the nostalgia spot on the cardboard, but I also buy the concept that Tony Khan is one among those guys who likes the tradition of the world title being the ultimate match of the night, no matter whether the feud surrounding it’s the most well liked on the show or any good to start with.

Anyway, enough ranting about this match being in the course of the cardboard, that is an absolute riot of a match. It is a bloodbath with a capital B so should you’re not into that type of stuff, fair enough, but please give it a try with this match since it’s really price it. The blood is warranted for a story this layered and deep, and there is a lot of it that you would be able to see each women getting exhausted within the closing moments. On the time, there was numerous discuss this being one among the shortest matches on the show, but I actually think that works to its advantage. If you would like to be realistic, these two girls cannot bleed that much and wrestle for 25 minutes, they only cannot, it isn’t how it really works. Due to the length, it doesn’t overstay its welcome, it’s frantic, it’s wrestled at a demonic pace where you are always considering to yourself that there is no way they’ll keep this type of motion up, but they do!

I get that at the moment, some people aren’t comfortable with women bleeding in every single place, which is why the WWE women’s division is likely to be more to their tastes and that’s perfectly high quality. Wrestling is subjective, not everyone has to love the identical things. Nevertheless, it is a match that has a powerful case of being the best women’s match to happen in the US, and is really one among the best matches of the last decade. Essential viewing.

One other match where people believed it was worthy of headlining the show, and on this case I actually think the Texas Death Match between Jon Moxley and Hangman Page was the proper selection. But when Toni Storm and Mercedes Mone’s war over the AEW Women’s World Championship happened at every other show, yes it must have closed the show, it’s the largest women’s match that AEW can book.

This one felt like an enormous deal. Mone had ran through everyone that was put in front of her since arriving in AEW back in March 2024, and on the time had a complete of seven different belts to showcase her achievements. The one thing she did not have was the largest prize of all of them, the AEW Women’s World Championship, and after The Hollywood Ending, Storm had been in a position to overcome even essentially the most surprising of odds in an effort to leave with the gold. They each got the grandest of entrances with Mone arriving in a low rider and having a coat displaying the list of names she had defeated, while Storm embraced being the “Lady in Red” and welcomed Mone to the “Timeless Zone.”

As for the match itself, it’s great. Had it not been for the 2 matches that followed it, it could have a real claim of being the most effective match on AEW’s biggest show of the 12 months. With that said, it’s most definitely worthy of the triple important event status it was given. Mone is decided to not let Storm’s mind games come into play, but she just can not help herself when she sees Storm doing her “CEO” dance, Luther catching Storm on the surface, and the fans relentlessly booing her despite being on top of things for a big portion of this match.

When Mone does let Storm into her head, there may be one other element of her game that is on full display, her selling. She has all the time bumped with a component of “Ragdoll Physics” where she looks like all of the bones in her body disappear when taking a German Suplex for instance, however the selling is great. Continually kicking out in essentially the most limp way possible to sell the impact is something that will have been overused had the match been a little bit longer, but it surely felt good with the quantity of times she executed it. 

As for Storm, she was on fire here, and while her performance in The Hollywood Ending is her best, this might be her best non-blood stipulation performance (though her nose does get a bit bloody towards the tip). I could have personally refrained from Mone kicking out after three Storm Zeroes and just going straight for the Avalanche version that ended the match, but that is a nit-pick. A implausible match fitting of the occasion, and I personally cannot wait for these two to cross paths again in the longer term.