AEW is prepared for Toni Storm to miss the remainder of 2026 at minimum following the injury that kept her off Dynamite on March 18, with creative plans already in place around the storyline being built from her absence.
Storm was written off AEW television in a non-contact angle during this week’s episode of Dynamite in Fresno, California. The segment was constructed with easter eggs designed to encourage fan speculation about who attacked her, with the creative team already having a direction in place for the attacker storyline going forward.
Storm had originally been scheduled to compete on that episode of Dynamite against Marina Shafir in a no-holds-barred match, but was not medically cleared. Mina Shirakawa stepped in as her replacement and defeated Shafir with a Storm Zero. A clip posted by AEW just ten minutes before the show aired showed Storm bloodied in her locker room with Shirakawa and Luther attending to her.
Bryan Alvarez of F4Wonline.com was the first to report that Storm’s absence was a legitimate medical situation and that Shirakawa was a genuine replacement rather than a planned storyline development. The news that AEW is now prepared for Storm to miss the rest of 2026 significantly escalates the known severity of her situation beyond the initial reports of an indeterminate timeline.
The timing complicates the program that had appeared to be forming around Storm and Ronda Rousey following Rousey’s surprise debut at AEW Revolution on March 15, where she confronted Storm after her victory over Shafir. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has since reported that nothing has been heard to indicate a Rousey versus Storm match is currently being planned.
AEW has not made any official statement regarding the nature or extent of Storm’s injury. Storm has also not commented on her status.
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