The professional wrestling world was shocked to find out today that SmackDown star Toni Storm is no longer with WWE, and as more details come out, it seems more and more likely that Storm actually asked for her release as opposed to the numerous budget cuts WWE has made throughout the year. It’s also surprising that WWE granted that release, especially since Storm was in the middle of a feud with Charlotte Flair revolving around the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Once the news hit of Storm’s departure, reactions came flying in from wrestling stars and fans on social media, and we’ve included a bevy of them starting on the next slide.
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Storm has recently been feuding with Flair on SmackDown and on the holiday tour, and on SmackDown this involved a fueling of pies that fans didn’t necessarily love. It all led to a match on SmackDown that Flair won, but the assumption was that Storm would get a rematch and a chance to get a win at Day 1.
That won’t happen now obviously, and it’s a shame. It’s unclear why Storm asked for her release, as it could be for any number of reasons. Hopefully, it doesn’t take long for her to land elsewhere, as Storm would be an asset to any Women’s division instantly. Whether that be in AEW, Impact, New Japan, MLW, or any number of independent promotions (which she was touring quite a bit before she headed to NXT UK), she will add star power and immense in-ring skill.
Storm’s departure also continues the tradition of NXT stars getting the short end of the stick when moving to Raw or SmackDown. She had a fantastic title run in NXT UK and a solid run in NXT before moving to SmackDown, but her SD run was cut short and didn’t get off to the best start either.
Hit the next slide to check out some of the reactions coming in.
