Toni Storm appears outside AEW, returning to major company for the first time since 2019

Former AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm has been absent from the Jacksonville-based company lately. Amid her absence, she made a virtual appearance at a recent STARDOM event.

The Timeless star was last seen at All In 2024, where she lost the AEW Women's World Championship to Mariah May in a singles match. The Auckland-born star has since been inactive. However, Storm is set to return to the ring soon.

Toni Storm made a surprising virtual appearance at the 2024 STARDOM Namba Grand Fight and challenged Mayu Iwatani to a match for the latter's IWGP Women's Championship in Nagoya on October 5.

Notably, Storm won the World of STARDOM Championship against an injured Mayu Iwatani in September 2017. Her last in-ring appearance in the Japanese promotion came at STARDOM Takaoka's 5th Anniversary event in July 2019.

The company's official X (Twitter) handle later shared the AEW star's message.

"I have accomplished a lot in Japan and have a lot of respect for Japanese professional wrestling. I have things I need to do in Japan. In 2017, I became the World of STARDOM Champion. But some people say that it was just an accident. I will prove that it wasn't. On October 5th in Nagoya, I will challenge Mayu Iwatani for the IWGP Women's Championship!" she said. [Translation via X]

---

Nikki Garcia praises Toni Storm for her performance at All In

Toni Storm's in-ring encounter with Mariah May at All In 2024 was a rollercoaster. Both female wrestlers put on a splendid show for the audience.

Later, WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Garcia (FKA Nikki Bella) heavily praised The Timeless star and The Glamour for their amazing performances in front of a packed Wembley Stadium.

"I was just in awe of so many of the wrestlers and the performance at All In. Toni Storm and Mariah May, if there’s a women’s match to watch, if you’re not a wrestling fan but maybe you’re like, ‘I want to watch something,’ their match from AEW All In was so incredible. The storytelling, the moves—I was just in awe of those women. It was just so incredible!" she said on The Nikki & Brie Show.

In a recent interview with Fightful, the former AEW Women's World Champion was asked to comment on how she felt after receiving compliments from Nikki Garcia. The 28-year-old stated that she agreed with Nikki and was used to receiving praise from people.

It will be interesting to see if Storm returns to AEW TV in the coming weeks.