The Story So Far: Toni Storm Vs. Mariah May At AEW Revolution

Toni Storm and Mariah May will meet in the ring for the conclusion of their trilogy at AEW Revolution on Sunday, with their Falls Count Anywhere bout billed as a "Hollywood Ending" for the Women's World Championship. The saga is leveled at 1-1 after their first two meetings home and away respectively, first in May's home nation of England at All In in August last year, where she would defeat her former mentor for her first Women's World title reign, and then in February at "AEW Grand Slam Australia," with Storm returning to her old stomping grounds to regain the title, beginning her record-breaking fourth reign. Now the former champion wants her title back, and to truly close the chapter on their feud, securing that chance via a brutal ambush of Storm and a decree that she will end things for good at Revolution. 

But the story between the champion and her challenger goes beyond just the title and the two occasions they have met with it on the line, with May playing the long game alongside Storm during her reign as champion before finally taking her opportunity to turn on her last year. They have been tag team partners, shared a three-way kiss during a pay-per-view, and both have taken to psychologically dismantling their rival before the bell has rung. The tale of "The Glamour" against "Timeless" has been acclaimed for the slow build to this weekend's conclusion; this is The Story So Far.

From the moment May debuted in AEW, she professed herself to be a super-fan of Storm and persisted until the champion brought her closer to her proverbial bosom as an understudy. Her career from that moment became intertwined with the champion's, becoming involved in her title feuds and ultimately ensuring her reign continued against the likes of Deonna Purrazzo and Thunder Rosa — at last year's Revolution, she even adopted Storm's former gimmick, entrance, and attire, and was for all intents and purposes the perfect mini-me for the eccentricity of the "Timeless" one. 

But as the story of friendship in professional wrestling often goes, the question as to how long the good times would last became evermore prominent as time went on. The first true crack in their relationship appeared to come in the build-up to Forbidden Door 2024, with May's former Club Venus teammate, Mina Shirakawa, coming from STARDOM to challenge Storm for the Women's World title. Storm appeared to be growing tired with the torn allegiance of her understudy between her and her challenger, while May tried her hardest at every stage to get the pair of them to get along. Shirakawa outright told May she would have to make a choice, and it appeared likely that something was due to break heading into the title bout. However, May somehow managed to keep the peace as Storm managed to retain her title, bringing them in for a three-way kiss to cement that all was well — or so it would appear. 

While Storm was defending her Women's World Championship against Shirakawa at Forbidden Door, May had beaten Saraya on the Zero-Hour of the event to advance from the opening round of the Owen Hart Cup — with the winner getting the shot at the Women's World Champion at All In. She would go on to beat Hikaru Shida in the semi-finals just a few days later, lastly defeating Willow Nightingale on July 10 to win the Cup and ensure she would be facing her mentor when she returned to England. That would be the moment that the trigger would be pulled, the mentorship between Storm and May severed, and a newly violent spin was put on their title contest; as Storm celebrated with her protege, rarely stepping away from the spotlight to let her understudy have her moment, she was blindsided with an attack by May. 

The challenger lashed the champion with the commemorative Owen Hart Foundation belt and took out the butler, Luther, to ensure they would meet at Wembley for a truly one-on-one fight. And it would be at Wembley that May first beat Storm after 15 minutes to begin her reign as Women's World Champion, prompting Storm to disappear from AEW altogether as she was last seen — in canon — wandering the streets of London aimlessly. May would continue her title reign as Storm took time away from the company, working her own stretch in STARDOM and CMLL, with Storm even teaming with Shirakawa when she had returned to Japan, while May was making it clear in AEW that she waiting for Shirakawa to celebrate her title win. Shirakawa eventually returned and May finally had her title celebration at Full Gear in November, only for May to use the occasion to break off another friendship to set up their title bout at "AEW Dynamite: Winter is Coming."

May wound up retaining her title against Shirakawa at "Winter is Coming," only for Storm to make her long-awaited return — albeit, with a twist. The former champion appeared to have dropped her "Timeless" persona, instead reverting to the character and presentation of her rookie years. She fed into the idea that she had regressed to a time of yore by outright refusing to acknowledge established relationships with both May and Purrazzo, presenting herself to be of the actual belief that she was a rookie and just happy to be there. While it was clearly a topic of confusion for the champion at the time, May reacted to Storm's return with the idea that she would be moving on from her past rival, and the fact the "rookie" wasn't outwardly looking for revenge appeared to make that goal easier. 

But as it would turn out, Storm would be an entrant in the Women's Casino Gauntlet match during "AEW Dynamite: Maximum Carnage" and she would ultimately win it, ensuring she would be getting her rematch – even if she didn't necessarily know it was one. With Plan A, attempting to avoid revisiting the rivalry with Storm, falling to the wayside, May reverted to Plan B; much as she had done before, May gave no regard for whatever role Storm was trying to play as she unleashed yet another vicious attack. But it would be then that Storm would reveal the act — "the role of a lifetime," as she would put it — she had been feigning the whole time, a plan hatched to ensure she could get back onto the champion's radar without drawing attention. It was also that paid dividends when they met in the ring in Brisbane, Australia. With her main event victory, Storm was champion once again — setting the stage for the final act of the epic Storm vs. May saga.