Toni Storm was released by WWE at the end of 2021, and we learned shortly after that she had requested that despite having only recently been called up to SmackDown. It was widely reported that the former NXT UK Women's Champion and Mae Young Classic winner was unhappy with how she was being booked, no great surprise when you look back at her feud with Charlotte Flair.
Storm didn't come out of that rivalry looking at all good, especially when the basis of it was her and former SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair throwing pies in each other's faces.
It was a degrading, disappointing way to book Storm, but the alternative was much worse. "Well if you must know, I was actually quite happy with that segment that day because it was a lot better than the original idea," Storm revealed on the AEW Unrestricted podcast.
"The original idea was I was asked if I was comfortable with having my shirt ripped off or something. They wanted to do this whole angle where it was like they were going to rip my shirt and I would be embarrassed in my underwear, I guess. I don’t know. When you’re asked if you feel comfortable doing that, and it’s like literally people are being fired every single week, it’s like, ‘Oh, yeah.'"
"So to be honest, the pie was actually a sweet treat in comparison to what it could have been. In hindsight, I didn’t really mind. You know what? People think I’m so mad about that. I think it’s hilarious."
It's good that Storm hasn't let this get her down, and given the way she's been booked in AEW, we'd argue that she made the right decision. Right now, she's a favourite to win the Owen Hart Women's Tournament, and that would be a great way to establish her as a top talent in the company.