A mystery continues to surround the sudden absence of ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm in All Elite Wrestling.
And it appears the situation may be far more complex than originally expected.
On the episode of AEW Dynamite following AEW Revolution, Storm had been scheduled to compete in a No Holds Barred match against Marina Shafir. However, plans abruptly changed when Storm was found unconscious backstage in her dressing room, with Mina Shirakawa discovering her before stepping in to attack Shafir in her place.
As previously reported, Storm’s hiatus is not believed to be injury-related, and the true reason behind her absence has remained tightly guarded.
Now, additional details have surfaced.
In the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter at F4WOnline.com, Dave Meltzer shed light on the last-minute changes that derailed what was expected to be a major storyline involving AEW Women’s Champion Thekla.
“Toni Storm has been reported as being out of action until 2027,” Meltzer wrote. “There are a number of stories floating around but it is obviously something that they want to keep under wraps. It is not an injury situation and it came up on 3/18 the day of the show as all plans until the afternoon were for Storm to beat Marina Shafir to lead to the start of a Thekla vs. Toni Storm program for the title. When they found out she could not wrestle, they laid out the injury angle and will be doing a tease akin to Who Shot JR? with clues and such and multiple potential assailants.”
That’s quite the pivot.
Meltzer also noted an interesting contradiction between Storm’s on-screen angle and her real-life appearances shortly after.
“Storm did an injury angle on television and did an autograph signing over the weekend not selling any injury at all.”
The situation has only grown more intriguing behind the scenes, particularly when it comes to AEW President Tony Khan’s silence on the matter.
According to Meltzer, Storm’s status is one of two topics Khan is reportedly refusing to address publicly.
“I was told outright before even asking about the subject that the two subjects Tony Khan will not talk about are Toni Storm and the story about his company putting in a bid to purchase WWE in 2023,” Meltzer wrote.
As always, we will keep you posted here at WrestlingHeadlines.com as updates regarding ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm’s AEW status continue to surface.
EXCLUSIVE: "Timeless" Toni Storm has been taken out backstage ahead of tonight's #AEWDynamite and her No Holds Barred Match with @MarinaShafir! pic.twitter.com/PcsVjwULrt
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 18, 2026
