Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Toni Storm primarily grew up in Australia's Gold Coast, and at a very young age, she discovered her love of professional wrestling. Storm found her start in the business at the age of 13 when she was wrestling for a small independent company in her hometown. Around the age of 18, Storm moved to Liverpool, England to further learn to wrestle under a famous English wrestler, Dean Allmark.
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Storm's career has seen her become a major star in promotions from the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States. The work she has done in promotions like Stardom and All Elite Wrestling has also seen her win numerous world titles. It might be surprising to see that Toni has decades of experience and hasn't even reached thirty years old yet. Let's travel throughout her career and rank every look of her career.
Beginning Her Career In Australia
Found Championship Success Quite Early
- Competed for All Action Wrestling in Australia.
- Captured the AAW Women's Championship.
Like most wrestlers, it can be quite difficult to find any footage or photos of the start of someone's career, but Storm has posted quite a few pictures from her early days. Some include her time when she was wrestling in All Action Wrestling located in Perth, Australia. The company was established sometime in 2005 before shutting down in 2019.
Taking a look at Storm's social media, fans can also see some pictures of a Monday Night Raw show taking place in Brisbane that Storm attended as a fan.
Had A Short Stint Under A Mask
- Had matches in promotions such as NWA Australian Wrestling Alliance, PROWL Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling Alliance Queensland.
- Had a short time wrestling under a mask using the name, Queen Wolverine.
Toni Storm has made her way around numerous promotions with a lot of them coming from the start of her career. As mentioned, Storm was able to find championship success with AAW, but that was far from the only company where she was able to win a title.
She also captured titles such as the PPW Pacific Women's Championship and the PWAQ Women's Title all within the first couple years of her career. Outside of title success, Storm wrestled in the NWA Australian Wrestling Alliance and got to make a complete character change for the first time while wrestling under a mask and the name Queen Wolverine, a character she would bring back every so often.
Making Her Name In The United Kingdom
Got To Wrestle With Future WWE Talent
- Wrestled across multiple promotions with names like Evie (Dakota Kai), Kay Lee Ray (Alba Fyre), and Viper (Piper Niven).
- Had significant runs in All Star Wrestling and Westside Xtreme Wrestling.
Young indy wrestlers usually bounce around from promotion to promotion finding work. Storm did get the chance to settle for a little bit while she had lengthier runs in promotions like All Star Wrestling and Westside Xtreme Wrestling. Her time in All Star Wrestling sticks out as it is where Kay Lee Ray, better known as Alba Fyre in the WWE, and Toni Storm would start their bitter rivalry that expanded to NXT UK.
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After her work in wXw was done, Storm bounced around a few smaller promotions before making her way to Japan and landing a more permanent role in World Wonder Ring Stardom.
Top Name In Stardom
Held The SWA & World Of Stardom Championships
- Had a record-breaking 612-day run as the SWA World Champion.
- Won the 5Star Grand Prix in 2017.
- Beat Mayu Iwantani to capture the World of Stardom Championship.
Toni Storm's run in Stardom only lasted a couple of years but was a major success and pushed Storm into the spotlight stronger than ever. The first and the vast majority of her time in the promotion saw her competing for the SWA World Championship, a somewhat secondary title primarily held by non-Japanese wrestlers.
Storm would capture the SWA World title and have a record-setting reign that lasted over 600 days. It would be during this reign that Storm also started to rise further up the ranks of Stardom and win the 5Star Grand Prix tournament, granting her a shot for the World of Stardom belt. Toni beat Mayu Iwantani in a match that saw Mayu legitimately injury her arm and need to stop the match, awarding Storm the belt.
Mae Young Classic Winner & NXT UK
Left Stardom And Started Working With WWE
- Storm won the second Mae Young Classic.
- Fought Rhea Ripley to determine the inaugural NXT UK Women's Champion.
- Won the title from Ripley at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool.
After a couple of tryout matches in 2017, Toni Storm finally got the chance to become a WWE wrestler after leaving Stardom. This came after a short run in PROGRESS Wrestling which saw Storm become the inaugural Women's Champion in the promotion. Storm first arrived in WWE by working in the NXT UK brand, having matches against names like Nina Samuels and Dakota Kai, talents she had worked with multiple times in the past.
The highlights of this run saw her win the second edition of the Mae Young Classic tournament and capture the NXT UK Women's Championship, before moving to NXT in America.
Final Run In WWE
Competed On NXT And Had A Short Period On SmackDown
- Had a short but solid run in NXT before moving to the main roster.
- Joined SmackDown and had a feud against Charlotte Flair.
- Left the company around the end of 2021.
For anyone who has seen Toni Storm wrestle over the last few years, it is evident that she is an amazing talent and capable of becoming a major success given the right story and feuds. Her time in NXT wasn't the most fruitful as it was relatively short and saw no championship success before she was called up to the main roster.
Upon arriving to SmackDown in 2021, Storm was quickly put into a feud with SmackDown Women's Champion, Charlotte Flair. This run was a mess as WWE didn't know how to book Storm, and it was capped off with Toni leaving the company after a few months on the main roster.
Becoming All Elite And Forming The Outcasts
Quickly Became A Big Deal In AEW
- Participated in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.
- Quickly earned an AEW Women's Championship match at Forbidden Door 2022.
- Captured the title at All Out 2022.
It took no time for Toni Storm to arrive in AEW and become a big deal after the horrible run that she had on SmackDown. Her first match saw her qualify for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, where she would make it to the semi-finals before losing to eventual winner Britt Baker.
Despite losing, Storm was pushed into a title feud against Thunder Rosa and the two would face off at Forbidden Door 2022. Storm would capture the title at All Out that year before losing it to Jamie Hayter at Full Gear. A couple of months after her title loss, Storm would form The Outcasts alongside Saraya and Ruby Soho, becoming a top-heel faction in the company.
Taking Over The AEW Women's Division
- Created a new character after losing the AEW Women's Championship for a second time.
- Recruited Mariah May as her understudy.
- Captured the AEW Women's Championship for a third time.
Finally reaching her current gimmick, Toni Storm has taken over the AEW Women's division with her character work and lengthy AEW Women's Championship reign. This character has seen Storm cut some of the best promos of her career while also having some of the best feuds she has ever had.
The work she has done with Mariah May has also helped the new AEW star become a top name without needing to hold a title herself. Part of the reason her character has worked so well is that Storm puts all of herself into the character and, since adopting it, has rarely been seen not portraying it.