The reign of Toni Storm

On November 19th at Full Gear wrestling, fans were treated to arguably the best match the AEW women's division had ever seen when Jamie Hayter battled champion Toni Storm for the interim AEW women's Championship. The fantastic game was hard-hitting, and you never knew who would win, fans were on the edge of their seats, and finally, we crowned a new champion in Jamie Hayter when the finish came. Now that her reign is over, it's essential to talk about Toni Storm and her important reign as champion. Toni Storm won the AEW interim title in a fantastic fatal four-way match between herself, Britt Baker, Jamie, and Hikaru Shida. When she won the title, Toni Storm carried the title with honor and prestige, defending it often against exceptional talents like Athena, Serena Deeb, Britt Baker, and Hikaru Shida! It's not always about the number of title defenses; it's the quality of the champion's matches. Every single Toni Storm match was exceptional and had fans on the edge of their seats; with the mic time, she got Storm always delivered, showing off her eye-catching charisma every time she got TV time. Storm was faced with defending her title in a fatal four-way match to start her reign. The beloved champion showed off her heart and determination as she fought for her title, putting on a dazzling hard-hitting display against three excellent wrestlers in Deeb, Britt Baker, and Athena. Toni was forced to battle the odds with the hungry challengers chomping at the bit to get her title, and the match finished when Toni Storm pinned the cunning Britt Baker. When Toni Storm defended her title against Deeb, we watched Toni display an astounding technical ability along with some very impressive and fluid chain wrestling we don't always get to see in wrestling. After her great defense against a dangerous Deeb, Toni defended her title against Hikaru Shida. This match was Toni's bread and butter. Fans got to watch a nasty hard-hitting brutal affair. Shida and Storm respected each other, but they beat the hell out of each other all for that title. By the time Toni Storm came out on top, the fans were again on their feet, just like every other Toni Storm title match.

The most important thing about Storm's title reign was she was a fighting champion. She wrestled every week since winning her title and sometimes pulled double-duty wrestling on Dynmate and Ramage. Storm was doing it all while champion, bringing some much-needed spotlight to the women's division, giving new stars like Skye Blue and Willow Nightingale a much-needed rub to help establish the up-and-coming talent in the eyes of the fans. While champion Toni brought stability at a critical time for AEW, Thunder Rosa was injured, and they needed someone to step up and keep the division afloat. Toni took on that challenge and THRIVED! The wickedly talented Aussie was the perfect choice to carry the torch during this time. Storm is ridiculously consistent in that ring and always puts on bangers when she gets in the ropes, and everyone who watches her wrestle can see that. TV matches or pay-per-view matches, it doesn't matter to Toni Storm because she LOVES Professional Wrestling and LOVES to entertain the fans, and because of that, night in and night out, fans get treated to fantastic matches from AEW's top workhorse. Something I enjoyed was Storm won all her matches clean, with no cheating, no grabbing tights, and brutal fights, and all of those factors played into that title meaning something.

As champion, Toni Storm also faced Emi Sakura, Mei Suruga, Jamie Hayter, Penelope Ford, Anna Jay, and Diamante. That's what's so important for a champion, AND the title is consistency in the ring and appearances! Toni was on TV every week proudly displaying the title she fought for, and it felt like a bigger deal each week due to Storms' passion for that title she held so dear. Since signing with AEW, Toni Storm has elevated the division and has been one of the most important signings for the promotion. Since debuting for AEW on March 30th, 2022, the Aussie workhorse has wrestled almost weekly for the company and has often appeared on their youtube wrestling show Dark and Elevation. She's one of the biggest names in wrestling and has an unmatched passion, which is precisely why fans love and respect her; they know whenever Toni wrestles, they are in for a treat. I have been lucky enough to meet Toni Storm at a meet and greet; she was one of the sweetest people I've ever met. Toni was kind and fun and took a lot of time to talk to me and every other fan that crossed her path; Storm is genuine as possible and shows every single time. My conversation with Toni was heartwarming cause she does everything for her fans and wants to make them happy. When Toni Storm arrived at AEW, they desperately needed another star, and Storm was precisely what the doctor ordered when Toni Storm became champion AEW struck gold. She grinded every week and constantly improved on her wildly impressive skillset; once she won the Championship, Storm was a weekly fixture on AEW television. She proudly displayed her title for all to see and fought for it with her life. When Toni held the Championship, it felt more important than ever, and the division was on the rise because of her critical title reign. Thanks to Toni Storm, the AEW Women's Division was grabbing headlines, and because Toni was so good made, the entire division stepped up their game so they could catch up to her. In time everyone will see why Storm's title reign was so crucial to the company, and in my opinion, Toni Storm had the best Championship reign in AEW Women's history.