Toni Storm's Absence Reportedly Affected Major AEW Storyline Plans

Referee Aubrey Edwards holds up Toni Storm's arm in victory following her match against Marina Shafir at AEW Revolution. - AEW/Lee South "Timeless" Toni Storm's reported extended absence from AEW programming impacted big storyline plans, according to a new report. Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Storm was meant for a major program following her AEW Revolution win over Marina Shafir.

According to Meltzer, Storm was set to feud with AEW Women's World Champion Thekla following her victory, and subsequent one-off face-to-face with former UFC and WWE star Ronda Rousey, over Shafir. Storm was meant to beat Shafir again in a no holds barred match on the following episode of "AEW Dynamite," and would then kick off her story with Thekla, but the "Timeless" one was attacked backstage and written off TV ahead of the bout. Her "Timeless Love Bombs" tag team partner Mina Shirakawa took her place in the no holds barred match and defeated Shafir.

Meltzer confirmed that when AEW found out Storm couldn't wrestle, they laid out the backstage attack angle. He wrote that AEW will be doing a tease like "Who Shot JR? " and multiple clues as to who Storm's attacker could be were left in her dressing room where she was found lying.

He also reported he was told before even asking that AEW President Tony Khan would not be talking about Storm. The former AEW Women's World Champion did an autograph signing over the weekend, but was not selling the backstage attack. It had previously been reported that while Storm is out of action for the entirety of 2026, she did not suffer an actual injury.