AEW's 'Timeless' Toni Storm Gimmick, Explained

There is no one in professional wrestling quite like "Timeless" Toni Storm. On paper, she is a former four-time AEW Women's World Champion with over 16 years of experience in the business, having previously wrestled for WWE, STARDOM, and various promotions across the United Kingdom, mainland Europe, and her native Australia. However, there is much more to the "Timeless" character than just her accolades.

In an era when everyone's character is grounded in reality, "Timeless" Toni Storm is a cartoon character come-to-life, having somehow landed in the wrestling business. She is woman from a bygone era of glitz and glamour; a time where Hollywood movie studios were producing movies so beloved that they are still seen as some of the greatest stories ever told, three-quarters of a century later. Storm is a post-World War Two movie star who has gone on to become one of the most popular wrestlers of her generation.

Throughout her time as the "Timeless" one, Storm has been involved in some of the greatest moments, matches, and stories not just in AEW history, but the history of women's wrestling in the United States. There are many layers to the character, and even more reasons why she has reached the level of fame she always knew she would reach.

For some, it's not immediately evident why 'Timeless' Toni Storm is as popular as she is. As previously mentioned, we are in the reality era of wrestling where kayfabe doesn't exist, and actual characters are few and far between, because "real" people are much more believable than someone who thinks she lives on the Sunset Strip during the Cold War. With that in mind, let's dive a little deeper into the "Timeless" gimmick to see where it came from, the inspiration behind it, and the element that made it so enjoyable for both AEW fans and those from the wider wrestling world.

There are a number of AEW fans who have only started watching the company over the past two years, meaning that they would have only known Toni Storm in her "Timeless" gimmick. It's important to know exactly how the character came about in storyline, and it all started with Storm completely losing her mind.

Storm lost her AEW Women's World Championship on the 200th episode of "AEW Dynamite" to Hikaru Shida in August 2023, with Shida matching Storm's then-record of being a two-time champion. In the weeks that followed, Storm would become more erratic, short-tempered, and found a fondness in throwing her shoes at anyone who interviewed her, especially Renee Paquette and Lexy Nair, the latter of whom Storm didn't remember being interviewed by. This short-term crisis almost came to an end at the inaugural AEW All In London pay-per-view as Storm vowed to walk out of Wembley Stadium with the title, and she was going to use her friend Saraya to help her.

Saraya and Storm were both members of The Outcasts stable alongside Ruby Soho, and in the four-way match at All In London, Saraya and Storm looked to outnumber the champion Shida, and the other participant, Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.. However, it was Saraya who left Wembley Stadium with the title, and cracks in The Outcasts began to show. Storm was visibly shaken in the aftermath of All In London and didn't know if she had lost her spark, but what was certain was that she was losing her mind. This was even more evident when she cost Ruby the AEW TBS Championship in a match against Kris Statlander at All Out in September 2023, causing further turmoil within The Outcasts.

Storm would get a chance to put things right when she earned another shot at the AEW Women's World Championship at the Grand Slam edition of "Dynamite," but things would go from bad to worse for her. Not only did Saraya beat Strom to retain her title, but she was officially kicked out of The Outcasts and left to wander the AEW landscape by herself. In an attempt to help her along the way, RJ City would have sit-down interviews with her titled "Portrait of a Star," and while it didn't look like much progress was being made, a major breakthrough came on the Fourth Anniversary edition of "Dynamite" that October.

Storm completely snapped at RJ as she ranted about how wrestling is so short-term and the pressure of being such a big star weighs down on her more than anyone, but when RJ stated that she wasn't even that old, Storm stopped and came to a realization. She wasn't old, she wasn't young, she was "Timeless." The character was born out of being separated from the top prize in AEW for so long that Storm needed to find out who she truly was in order to get back to the top, and once she understood who she was, there was no slowing her down.

Once Toni Storm came to her "Timeless" realization, her entire presentation started to change. Her entrance music changed from the rock track "Watch What's Next" featuring the late Suzie Mojo, to a more cinematic piece titled "Somewhere In A Dream," both produced by AEW's in-house music producer Mikey Rukus. Her entrances themselves were screened in black and white rather than color, and even though she spent a lot of her time growing up in England, her Australian accent was traded in for one that wouldn't be out of place in an old Hollywood movie from the 1950s.

Storm had become the embodiment of the classic Hollywood starlet that you would routinely see in movies that aired on TCM. She was even billed as being from Stage Seven at Warner Brothers Studios, the soundstage that saw parts of "Rebel Without A Cause," "Casablanca," and the original version of "Ocean's Eleven" filmed there. Those black and white movies that are shown regularly on TCM were the main source of inspiration for the "Timeless" character, with AEW President Tony Khan citing two movies that changed the course of AEW forever.

During a 2024 interview with TVInsider, Khan stated that "Sunset Boulevard" and "All About Eve," both released in 1950, are two of his favorite movies. He got the chance to watch them both back right as the world entered into lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, and wanted to do something like those movies in a professional wrestling setting. Years later, Khan asked Bryan Danielson if he had seen either of the movies, to which he said no. However, he did find out that the only person in the entire AEW office who had seen both movies was RJ City, who became Khan's right-hand man for the character and the stories that came with it.

Khan rewatched "Sunset Boulevard" shortly before putting together the full Timeless character and the main story that would accompany her, which is ultimately what led Luther to be brought in as Storm's devoted butler. In the end, the character became a combination of Gloria Swanson's performance as Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard" and Bette Davis' performance as Margo Channing in "All About Eve." Storm became an old Hollywood starlet who dreamed of making it back to the top and reliving her prime years.

The Margo Channing character wasn't the only thing Khan took as inspiration from "All About Eve," as the entire plot of the movie became the blueprint for Storm's greatest performance yet. However, in order for the picture to be fully painted, Storm would need an Eve to accompany her Margo.

In November 2023, Mariah May (now known as Blake Monroe in WWE) made her AEW debut after forging a name for herself on the independent scene in the United Kingdom, as well as STARDOM in Japan. Her time in Japan was referenced in her opening promo alongside RJ City, where she stated that she was a huge fan of Toni Storm and that she has modeled her career after Storm's, and wanted to be just like the 'Timeless' one. Anyone who had seen "All About Eve" at this point would know exactly where the company was going with "The Glamour."

The plot of "All About Eve" sees Margo Channing introduced to a young fan named Eve Harrington, played by Anne Baxter. Margo takes Eve under her wing to show her the ropes when it comes to navigating show business, but Eve had an ulterior motive: take over Margo's life. Eve would manipulate Margo to the point where she would become a threat to her career and essentially become Margo Channing. From the acting, to her appearance, all the way up to her romantic interests, Eve wanted to take control of Margo's life and make everything, well, all about Eve. 

Compare this to how things transpired in AEW between Toni Storm and Mariah May and it is remarkably similar. Storm was originally dismissive of May and not interested in having an understudy. However, May appealed to the one thing Storm did have an interest in – herself – and maneuvered herself into Storm's life to the point where the two women looked inseparable in certain moments. May adopted some of Storm's mannerisms and even her old gear for a period of time, and the story was so well told that even the people who went in knowing about the "All About Eve" background had forgotten that May was going to eventually turn on her mentor.

The turn eventually came after the final piece of May's plan had gone successfully. She won the 2024 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament to earn a shot at Storm's AEW Women's World Championship at the All In London pay-per-view that August, and brutally attacked Storm as they were about to celebrate in one of the most shocking moments in "AEW Dynamite" history. What followed was a trilogy of matches over the top prize in the AEW women's division, with the first seeing May beat Storm for the title in her country of England, followed by Storm beating May for the title in her home country of Australia in the rematch, and then the third and most violent bout taking place in Hollywood itself.

After she lost the AEW Women's World Championship to Mariah May at AEW All In London 2024, 'Timeless' Toni Storm disappeared from AEW. Her character began after she lost the title and now that she no longer the champion, there needed to be some evolution in the 'Timeless' one. Storm decided to try her hand at an international excursion by taking her talents to CMLL in Mexico, as well as back to STARDOM in Japan, but defeats to La Catalina and Mayu Iwatani respectively led to some people believing that maybe Storm was going to be on the decline when she eventually came back to AEW. 

Instead, Storm reverted back to her old rocker gimmick that she had when she joined AEW in 2022 and portrayed herself as a rookie. There was just one problems, despite being a three-time AEW Women's World Champion when she made her return, she thought that she had just debuted and was grateful for every opportunity that was given to her. It would later be revealed in January 2025 that this was all an act and it was just Storm playing "The role of a lifetime," but this is an early sign of how the character would evolve after her story with Mariah May concluded.

Storm emerged victorious from the feud and sent May packing, but she was forever changed through her encounter with "The Glamour." With the "All About Eve" inspired story finished, some thought that the "Timeless" character would fade away into obscurity, but the exact opposite has happened since AEW Revolution 2025.

Storm was a fully fleshed out character by the time her story with May ended, meaning that she was so much easier to connect with when it came to the follow up feuds she had. Megan Bayne, Mercedes Mone, and Athena were all built up as credible, fierce contenders to the undisputed queen of AEW, making all of those matches feel bigger than any other regular title matches. The mannerisms, the accent, and the sexual innuendos were still there by the boatload, but Storm was able to branch out and be a major part in other women's stories rather than just being the main character of her own.

So with all of that said, what is the legacy of "Timeless" Toni Storm? To put it in the simplest possible terms, she has gone beyond being the biggest star in the AEW women's division by several country miles, and is genuinely one of the biggest stars in AEW and the entire wrestling world.

There is a reason why Storm gets the biggest reactions from the crowd out of any women's wrestler in AEW: she is positioned as the star in the company. It's now gotten to the point where she is becoming the focal point of feuds in the men's division, with the recent Mixed Nuts Mayhem match at AEW Worlds End 2025 seeing Storm team up with The Conglomeration to take on the Death Riders. In a match including the likes of Claudio Castagnoli, Orange Cassidy, and Roderick Strong, all three of them being featured weekly in the 2025 Continental Classic tournament, it was Storm who took the spotlight. This was also evident in the social media numbers of the clips featuring her with Orange Cassidy which collectively pulled in over 100 million views.

Storm has reached a level where she is a legitimate draw, and whenever her name is on the card, there's a good chance that tickets for that particular show will start moving quicker. In a company that is at times hyper-focused on the in-ring aspect of things (which is actually why some fans took time to warm up to the "Timeless" character), AEW fans know that when Storm's music hits, they will be greeted with a performer who is fully committed to her character while also being able to back up her provocative promos in between the ropes. She's a hybrid of a genuinely good worker in the ring which satisfies the "work rate fans" and a fully formed character that scratches the sports entertainment itch of other fans.

There's a reason why she's held the AEW Women's World Championship four times, more than anyone else. There's a reason why she's featured on as many cards as Tony Khan can fit her on. There's a reason why by the end of 2026 she will still be talked about as one of the biggest stars in the entire industry. It's because she is "Timeless."