AEW's Toni Storm Appears At STARDOM American Dream, Teases Match With Mina Shirakawa
Between her appearances in All Elite Wrestling and her frequent visits to Studio 7 at Warner Studios, AEW Women's World Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm has a very busy schedule. However, with her protégé Mariah May competing for a company they both have history with, Storm decided to make a detour from her usual routine.
On Thursday, May reunited with her former Club Venus stablemates Mina Shirakawa and Xia Brookside at STARDOM's American Dream in The Keystone State event in Philadelphia, where they were defeated by Tam Nakano and STARS' Mayu Iwatani and Momo Kogho in a trios match. That was when Storm — who wrestled for STARDOM from 2016 to 2019 before leaving to join WWE full-time — made a surprise appearance, confronting Shirakawa before she and May could fully reestablish their old bond.
Toni Storm... is she stealing @MariahMayx from Mina??
What is happening?! 🙀
— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) April 4, 2024
Storm and May were later interviewed backstage, where Storm praised May and said that "the Forbidden Door is always open." May said Shirakawa was her mentor in Japan, while Storm is her mentor in the United States. Storm said Shirakawa was "quite the interesting one" and that she would talk about her with May at a later date, potentially teasing a future match between the two, presumably at this year's Forbidden Door cross-promotional event. Shirakawa recently made her debut for AEW CEO Tony Khan's Ring of Honor brand and will be competing at ROH's Supercard of Honor event on Friday, meaning she is officially on the AEW radar; she is currently one-third of the Artist of Stardom Champions alongside Maika and Xena of the Empress Nexus Venus stable, which evolved from Club Venus. Storm, meanwhile, will defend her championship against Thunder Rosa at AEW Dynasty on April 21.
#AEW Women's World Champ "Timeless" Toni Storm shares a moment with Mariah May after her BIG surprise return to #STARDOM!
The Forbidden Door is always open 💫
⭐️ @emilymaeheller with the scoop! pic.twitter.com/w09CLfVw0Q
— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) April 4, 2024