Toni Storm's recent AEW 'return' sparks reaction from WWE Hall of Famer
Toni Storm has garnered waves of praise and acknowledgement from viewers of AEW for her work in the company over the past couple of years. WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash voiced a similar sentiment in his own evaluation of The Timeless One.
The 29-year-old star has secured her place at the top of AEW's women's division through her performance as Timeless Toni Storm, culminating last year in a Women's World Title match at All In London, where The Illustrious One was dethroned by her former protégé and 'understudy,' Mariah May. Storm disappeared from All Elite programming for a time afterward but returned at Winter is Coming 2024, seemingly with no memory of her time in the promotion.
After earning a shot at May's championship at Grand Slam Australia, Toni came face-to-face with Mariah at AEW Collision: Homecoming, expressing her admiration for her as a peer but receiving a brutal beatdown in return. However, before May could leave, Storm revealed that she did remember their history, that she was merely playing an amnesiac version of herself, and that she would take vengeance against the World Champion at Brisbane, signaling the return of her 'Timeless' persona.
The segment mentioned from last week's Collision has received positive reviews and reactions across the wrestling world. On a recent episode of his Kliq This podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash echoed the sentiments of fans by praising Toni Storm, comparing her performance last Saturday to Demi Moore's in the acclaimed 2024 horror film Substance.
"She kind of did a rendition of Demi Moore's performance of her newest film that's Oscar-worthy ... smearing of the f**king makeup and all that kind of [stuff], f**king loses it," Nash said. "I loved her stuff with RJ [City], like all her black and white s**t like I've always like — to me, like I know who she is and I know her work because she's always been different. She's like so f**king different than everybody else, and to me, like she's avant-garde, she's an entertainer that happens to be in professional wrestling, but I mean she's an entertaining human being and kudos to her." [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Storm is scheduled to appear this week on Collision as well.
Mariah May's response to Toni Storm on AEW Dynamite
Despite being stunned by the return of Timeless Toni Storm at Daily's Place last week, Mariah May fired back against her former mentor during her interview with Renee Paquette on AEW Dynamite this week. The Fighting Princess called out the former WWE Superstar for falling for her deception and invoked her losses at All In 2024, as well as afterward at Stardom and CMLL.
Unlike Storm, May claimed, she did not need to play a role to dominate her division. It remains to be seen whether she can back up her words against the three-time former AEW Women's World Champion at Grand Slam Australia.