Former Women's Champion Toni Storm recently returned to AEW in an increasingly confusing amnesia storyline, but the surprises aren't ending. Now, it has been abruptly announced that Storm will be making her Ring of Honor debut...tomorrow.
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In a social media post, ROH announced "IT'S TONI TIME as the former #AEW Women's World Champion (whether she wants to admit it or not) #ToniStorm makes her Ring of Honor debut THIS THURSDAY on #ROH TV!"
The phrasing of the post is clearly referencing the ongoing storyline in which Storm suddenly "retired" following the loss of the AEW Women's World Championship to Mariah May at Wembley Stadium in August.
To regroup, Storm sought opportunities abroad, competing on multiple dates for Stardom and making her debut in CMLL over the past few months. However, her efforts were met with disappointment, as she suffered losses in both singles matches during her time in these international promotions.
The three-time champ gave a (typically) dramatic interview in which she announced "I'm not used to being a loser... I've failed at everything. I lost in AEW, I lost in Japan, I lost in Mexico. This is the last you'll hear from me again. Enjoy Mariah May as your champion. You can all enjoy that."
Fans and commentators alike expected that her retirement angle would be short-lived, which turned out to be the case.
However, her return to AEW has confused fans with what appears to be some kind of "amnesia" storyline in which Storm seems to think she has just joined the company and also is essentially being treated by the company as a rookie.
On a recent episode of Collision, Toni Storm faced Shazza McKenzie in a brief match, securing the win before taking the microphone to announce—somewhat surprisingly—that she was now officially "All Elite."
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This storyline would explain why her return to the company was highlighted on the smaller (and recently canceled) Rampage instead of Dynamite, as the promotion may want to position her as someone who has forgotten her past two years in AEW, effectively starting over as a neophyte.
That a superstar like Storm is also being booked on the relatively niche ROH also indicates that AEW is really committing to the idea that the formerly Timeless One thinks and/or is being treated like a newbie. It'll be interesting to see how much further they can go with this angle and what the eventual explanation for it is.
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