Tony Khan's Hail Mary for AEW seems to be found in 29-year-old star
The ratings are in for last week's episode of AEW Rampage. The episode, which featured the blockbuster return of a 29-year-old former World Champion, reportedly witnessed a considerable boost in viewership numbers.
The 2024 Winter is Coming edition of Rampage aired from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The show presented the blockbuster AEW in-ring return of Toni Storm, following on the heels of her shocking comeback at Dynamite: Winter is Coming. The former Timeless One took on and defeated the up-and-coming Harley Cameron in singles action.
Other than that, Rampage also featured former WWE Superstar Matt Cardona going against Bryan Keith, and Deonna Purrazzo representing The Vendetta against Shazza McKenzie. Furthermore, Mark Davis and Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Konosuke Takeshita and Lance Archer in tag team action. The show also aired segments starring Brody King and Kris Statlander, who alluded to having unfinished business with TBS Champion Mercedes Mone.
Last week's episode of AEW's Friday-night show, according to Wrestlenomics, pulled in an average of 279,000 viewers with an 18-49 demo rating of 0.08. This marked an improvement on the viewership figures drawn by Rampage the week prior to that, which raked in 177,000 viewers and a demo rating of 0.04.
The December 13 episode of Rampage seemingly benefited from 29-year-old Toni Storm's return being booked on it, a decision which reportedly was reportedly not received very well backstage.
Toni Storm also wrestled on AEW Collision this past weekend
Toni Storm was not satisfied with only wrestling on Rampage last week. The former AEW Women's World Champion was also in action on the December 14, 2024 episode of Collision: Winter is Coming, where she defeated Shazza McKenzie in under two minutes.
After the bout, The Illustrious One took up a microphone and declared herself All Elite - a peculiar announcement, seeing how she has been signed with the company since 2022. Furthermore, she introduced herself to Thunder Rosa backstage as if for the first time, even though the two have been opponents as well as tag partners in All Elite Wrestling.
It appears that Storm's current persona has lost all memory of her All Elite Wrestling run so far. It remains to be seen when she will recall the forgotten chapters of her career and go after the Women's World Title, at present held by her former protege Mariah May.