Toni Storm Comments On Why She Asked For WWE Release
Many fans were surprised when Toni Storm abruptly parted ways with WWE late last year.
On Friday's episode of Busted Open Radio, Storm delved into some of the factors that led to her departure from the company.
"I guess I just freaked out and went home," Storm said flatly.
The reasons are more complicated than that and Storm did not provide many details about what was happening to her behind the scenes in WWE. She did make it clear that she was feeling overwhelmed by mounting pressure mentally and emotionally.
"I went two and a half years without going home at all and that's after a life of like – well, about seven years of being on the road," Storm explained. "Like, I left for England. About seven or eight years had passed and I was like, 'Oh my God!' And then take into account the amount of negativity that you hear about WWE and then add that on top of it.
"And I'm not saying that I had a problem with WWE at all. I'm actually really grateful for the time that I got to have there. I learned so much. And you know what? It was so cool. It was real and it was cool. But in the end, it wasn't real cool. And something just happened and I left. And it felt – I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience, to be honest.
"I just kinda – you know, have you ever lost it? Have you ever just lost your mind? That's kinda what happened, I guess. The stress of not seeing family in years and then just so many overwhelming things all at once and uh, yeah. I've been happier ever since."
Toni Storm recently signed with AEW and made her debut on the March 30 episode of Dynamite. Storm defeated The Bunny to become the first individual to qualify for the Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament.
"I felt really overwhelmed in that moment," Storm recalled. "I was excited and really happy because I feel like I've been given a second chance at my career and it's not all over. When I left WWE I wasn't banking on going anywhere else."
Toni Storm admitted she didn't have a plan for life after WWE at the time she left the company. However, she had been working for months to get her body into better shape.
"I've been going pretty hard for about a year," Storm said. "I feel during my time in NXT and after the pandemic, I was feeling a bit slow, lacking motivation a bit, but I pushed through. But just in the last year, I've managed to get my diet and training down. I don't know. I guess I'm growing up. I'm coming out of my early 20's and I'm, like, being careful and I'm being better."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Busted Open Radio with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.