Where does one even begin when it comes to dissecting the gut-wrenching, heartbreaking saga of Toni Storm and Mariah May? What seemingly started as Mariah May’s slavish devotion to following in Toni’s footsteps eventually revealed itself to be nothing more than a long con perpetrated by the self-described “Woman from Hell”, all in an effort to (a) take the AEW Women’s World Title from “Timeless” Toni Storm and (b) completely destroy the woman.
The first was accomplished at ALL IN: LONDON 2024 when Mariah defeated “The Timeless One” to end her third championship reign after 281 days. The second seemed to take place shortly thereafter when Toni wandered off into the streets around Wembley Stadium, but in truth didn’t come to fruition until November 20th when, after losing efforts in Stardom and CMLL, “Timeless” Toni Storm announced to the world she was retiring from professional wrestling. It took the better part of a year from Mariah’s November 8, 2023 DYNAMITE debut to accomplish both of her insidious goals, but it seemed on November 20, 2024 that she’d completely destroyed Toni Storm. Then DYNAMITE: WINTER IS COMING 2024 happened:
Toni Storm returned to the AEW stage but clearly not in a “Timeless” capacity; this was a Toni Storm who looked far more in line with the woman who arrived in All Elite Wrestling on March 30, 2022 to take part in the inaugural Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament. Furthermore, this Toni Storm seemingly had no recollection of the last 987 days she’d spent competing as a member of the AEW roster, much less her three reigns as AEW Women’s World Champion, or the relationships/rivalries she’d cultivated with the members of the locker room! So far gone was her recall of her own life that Toni Storm didn’t even recall her relationship with “The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo that predated either competitors arrival in AEW!
Toni introduced herself to everyone like it was her first day on the job, and entered every venue like it was all a totally new experience. It felt as if Toni had regressed to her earliest days competing in Australia, most evident when she arrived in New York City to compete on the Hammerstein Ballroom events that closed out 2024:
There was an absolute disconnect between who Toni Storm was and who she’d become, however any time any one came near to asking her the question about just what was going on, Storm found a way to divert the line of questioning. It happened with Tony Schiavone, and it happened with Renee Paquette, but it could no longer be avoided after Toni Storm won the first-ever Women’s Casino Gauntlet to earn this championship opportunity taking place tonight and she had to meet Mariah May face-to-face for the “first” time:
Toni pushed Mariah to her absolute limit with this escape from reality, but May’s violent outburst that followed only revealed the reality that “The Glamour” had fallen for Storm’s shell game. It hadn’t been as long and drawn out as what Mariah May perpetrated over the course of 2024’s first-half, but it was effective enough to make the whole of All Elite Wrestling question whether Toni Storm was operating in a state of deep denial, was faking this whole act, or if she’d completely broken from reality. All three seemed possible, but as Storm said when she revealed herself to truly be “Timeless”, she’d stepped into the performance of a lifetime and now it was time to make Mariah May pay for her sins:
“Timeless” Toni Storm was in control now, not just of herself, but of the entire situation pertaining to Mariah May, and never was that more clear than last week on DYNAMITE and COLLISION, especially COLLISION seeing as how the Women’s World Champion thought she was in control of the psychological warfare but was totally thrown off her game by the arrival of Luther and the events that cascaded from there.
Tonight at GRAND SLAM: AUSTRALIA it is time for Mariah May to pay the proverbial piper when she steps into the ring once again with “Timeless” Toni Storm, only this time instead of a woman reeling from betrayal, Mariah’s dealing with a Toni Storm fully ready to unleash hell upon the woman claiming that as her residence. Will this “Timeless” homecoming also be a night of celebration and triumph capped off by Toni Storm hoisting her fourth World Championship high overhead, or will Mariah May show the world that she has had the upper hand on Miss Storm since day one?
TBS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…“The CEO” Mercedes Moné vs. Harley Cameron
It isn’t just Mariah May that Toni Storm has had an effect on since returning to All Elite Wrestling back in December. As a matter of fact it was her words to fellow Australian-native Harley Cameron that led to this match taking place tonight for the TBS Championship:
Toni Storm actually gave Harley inspiration, a belief that she too could wrestle at GRAND SLAM: AUSTRALIA if she put her mind to it. Not only did Harley put her mind to it, she put her singing skills, her guitar playing, and unveiled a heretofore unknown talent: puppetry!
Suffice to say Mercedes Moné was less than enthused about Harley’s talent for ventriloquism, but “The CEO” made a rather relevant point around Harley’s win-loss record. To be blunt, Mercedes very harshly called Harley a loser, but frankly, when it comes down to the numbers, the TBS Champion isn’t wrong. Sure Cameron had scored a few wins since her AEW debut in August 2022, but her only singles victories came on AEW DARK, and her only televised win was as part of a tag team match on the 9/13/24 RAMPAGE. Harley may have grown by leaps and bounds as in-ring competitor since first arriving in AEW, but that growth hadn’t parlayed into meaningful victories. So Harley made a point to change that:
It took everything she had, but Harley managed to score a victory over the highly-decorated, world-traveled Taya Valkyrie later that night. Perhaps Moné’s words were as much inspiration for Harley as Toni’s, and that victory led Harley to plead her case with “The CEO” once again:
Again Mercedes denied Harley her ticket to GRAND SLAM: AUSTRALIA, only this time she was far more insulting than merely calling Harley a loser and certainly quite denigrating about Harley’s accomplishment versus Taya Valkyrie. Yet Harley is nothing if not persistent, and perhaps it was not the best idea on Mercedes’ part to treat someone just a tad unhinged in such fashion:
Not only did “The CEO” feel Harley’s wrath in that moment, now she’s set to feel it tonight at GRAND SLAM: AUSTRALIA with the TBS Title on the line! Moné may have four belts and three championships, and she may be the best TBS Champion in the history of the title, her 13 successful defenses against top-tier competition certainly lend those claims credence, but in those defenses and through her 14 consecutive AEW victories, she’s yet to face anyone quite like Harley Cameron. She’s battled top talent from Mexico and Japan, as well as the elite women of AEW, but none have been as unpredictable and chaotic as Harley Cameron. There’s no telling what this woman will do from one moment to the next, or what words will come falling out of her mouth, and that makes her one of the most dangerous threats to the TBS Title Mercedes has faced yet. Harley Cameron has nothing to lose, the sheer fact that she found a way into this title fight in her home country is a win unto itself, but Mercedes Moné has everything to lose, especially with all the negativity she’s spewed in Harley’s direction. She clearly doesn’t respect Harley, as a person or as a competitor, so this loss would sting not only because it would be The CEO’s first in AEW, but also because it would come at the hands of someone she fully expects to roll over tonight in Brisbane!
Will we witness Harley Cameron pull off one of the biggest upsets in All Elite Wrestling history tonight at GRAND SLAM: AUSTRALIA?