Toni Storm had a great showing in the inaugural 2017 WWE Mae Young Classic, making it to the semifinals in the all-women’s tournament.
That wasn’t good enough for her.
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“Even before it was announced, I was like, 'There's going to be a second one,'” Storm said. "'There has to be.' Ever since then, I've been like, 'I didn't get the job done last time.' This is the year I've got to.”
Storm will have her chance to win the 2018 WWE Mae Young Classic when she squares off against Io Shirai in the tournament finals at this Sunday’s WWE Evolution — the first ever WWE all-women’s event — airing live on the WWE Network.
#WWEEvolution #WWEMYC @tonistorm_ @shirai_io pic.twitter.com/mvs2iuBwuL
— Mae Young Classic (@MaeYoungClassic) October 25, 2018
Despite only recently turning 23-years-old, the New Zealand-born Storm has already been plying her craft for the past decade and has earned the reputation of being one of the best female wrestlers in the world.
When the field for this year’s Mae Young Classic was announced, many fans named Storm the favorite to win the tournament that included an impressive field of 31 other female performers, while having great matches in every round. It’s a pressure that Storm has come to expect and embrace.
“At the time, I don't think I like it, but I do because it really does push me,” explained Storm. “The more I'm out of my comfort zone, the most stressed I am, the more pressure I'm under, the more I'm on the verge of a complete breakdown, the better I seem to perform oddly enough.”
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Life has been a blur for Storm with her busy schedule, one that has seen her constantly travel around the globe for shows in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe to tours in Japan and Australia. It was a frantic lifestyle that had her basically living out of a suitcase for several years.
“There was a point where for a good few months where I wasn't home long enough for my laundry to dry,” Storm said. “But I wouldn't have it any other way because it's exciting and you meet so many different people and you have the most killer matches ever. You get to see the world, so it's a priceless opportunity and it's my job as well. I'm just lucky. I'm really lucky.”
Storm says that everything has calmed down for her now as she has settled into her home in the United Kingdom, but the experience was invaluable, helping mold her style — a hybrid of hard-hitting action that mixes Japanese strong style with British grappling.
That style, along with her resume, has been building since she fell in love with sports entertainment at the young age of 10, while growing up in Australia. And her determination took over, but she had to convince one person — mom.
“From then on, my mom was like, 'You're not going to do that,'” explained Storm. “I was like, 'Actually, I am.' From then on, I never gave up after that and was determined to find somewhere. I found people that said, 'There's this wrestling place and you can actually start when you're 12.' So, off I go. I was 13 and we really couldn't afford it, but my mom was like, 'You really want this. I'll give credit to you — I'll help you.'"
She added: “I couldn't really afford the fee, so my mom would sell hot dogs at every event that they had and worked selling all the food and stuff to help pay the fees. It's pretty cool. I'm so thankful for all those hot dog sales.”
While learning the craft, there would be times she would come home from training with a nasty bruise or a black eye. That could have easily given mom second thoughts.
“When I was 14 and 15, I would do some stupid matches,” said Storm. “I would do hardcore matches and get hit with signs and do that kind of stuff which I stopped doing after a while. At the time, I didn't think anything of it, but now that I'm older I think back and wonder what my mom would have been thinking. Now, I try to do everything I can to make up for all of the stress I caused.”
Another possible cause for concern from mom was that Storm was mainly wrestling guys for the first few years of her career, as there weren’t many other women in the area at the time.
“The guys, I think they helped me in terms of toughening up because they are stronger, but the girls are a hell of a lot more vicious,” explained Storm. “They were a lot more rough than the guys. I remember getting frustrated when I was younger because a lot of the guys, some of them didn't want to wrestle a girl and said, 'I don't want to hurt her.' I was like, 'No, treat me like a wrestler! Treat me the same!' I was really big on equality even at 13.”
The past 10 wild years have taken Storm to where she is now — getting ready to compete in the 2018 WWE Mae Young Classic Finals on a huge stage at Evolution.
“An all-women's pay-per-view,” Storm said. “I never thought there would be something like that ever able to happen and now it's happening. It's just insane. I need to be working hard.”
That hard work will continue in the new NXT UK brand that recently launched on the WWE Network, showcasing the hotbed of talent in that area that has grown exponentially over the past few years.
“There's so many great guys and girls there and we've put on killer shows,” Storm excitedly explained. “It's so underrated. The British talent is so incredibly underrated and it's all come from everyone's own creativity and hard work and passion. We thought a year ago the UK was at its best and now we have an NXT division. Of course, it was always worthy of it, but we never thought we'd be able to have that and now we do and so many good guys and girls are getting opportunities now that we never thought we could.”
The timing for Storm has been incredible, as she is hitting her physical prime during the women’s wrestling boom with everything she has already experienced and the endless opportunities that await her and other female performers.
“Living in all of these different countries and making friends with all of these different people,” Storm said, “of course, there's a lot of dark times within wrestling, but overall it's a ridiculous experience. It's so cool and I'm just trying to embrace it now. I won't be able to do this forever.”
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