Toni Storm On How WWE NXT Is Affecting The Independent Wrestling Scene
Toni Storm had an eventful 2018, as she defeated 31 other competitors to become the winner of the second-annual Mae Young Classic, which culminated last October at WWE Evolution. Storm has had an equally impressive start to her 2019, defeating Rhea Ripley this past Saturday for the NXT UK Women's Championship at NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool, making her the first-ever New Zealand born singles champion in WWE. As seen in the video above, Storm sat down with Planeta Wrestling to recount these recent achievements and to discuss other topics, such as her dream WrestleMania opponent, how she believes NXT is elevating the independent wrestling scene, and the advice she would give to aspiring female wrestlers.
When considering who she would face at WrestleMania if given the choice, Storm hesitated, mentioning Ronda Rousey and Sasha Banks before expanding further on the idea of a Toni Storm vs. Becky Lynch match. Storm explained that Lynch's strength and captivating attitude inspire her most.
"I really want to be in there with Becky," Storm said. "She's someone that's inspired me so much, especially in recent times, ya know, she's the man. I just love her strength, and I love her fire, and she's a strong woman, and that inspires me. That's why I keep doing this."
With the success, Storm is no stranger to negative attention from the media. It was well documented how Storm recently had personal photos released to the public, however, it seems Storm has put the event behind her and continues building toward her future, a future where she is the NXT UK Women's Champion. Storm offered some advice to aspiring female wrestlers, encouraging them to overlook the hurtful things others do.
"Don't let anything stand in your way," Storm stated. "Don't take any crap from anybody and don't let anybody tell you that you can't. Don't let anyone get in your way, no matter what you do, because they are going to try to stand in your way, and people are going to try and take your happiness, and take what you want away from you, and, don't ever let that happen, and just keep pushing, keep going! Do whatever you want in life."
Storm would also discuss the benefits of NXT expanding to new territories, like they have with the UK, saying that the exposure WWE offers will ultimately bring popularity and opportunity to the talent involved.
"Independent wrestling is at the best it's ever been and then what WWE has done, they just come in, and they just elevated it for us so that we can pursue more," Storm explained. "And I'm so thankful for that because it's just making it more mainstream, and making it more popular, and that's what we needed. I think independent wrestling needs more exposure because it's so incredible and this is going to help it a lot."
You can listen to the full interview in the video above. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Planeta Wrestling with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.