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AEW star Toni Storm has opened up about the importance of discussing mental health in professional wrestling.
Despite many people across the world suffering from mental health issues, creating a discourse regarding it is still seen by some as uncomfortable or even taboo. This hits even harder in the world of wrestling, which still has the stigma of being a "tough guy" industry.
Toni Storm has been credited as someone who isn't afraid to open up about her personal struggles, which is why, on the most recent episode of the AEW Unrestricted podcast, she made it very clear that it feels great to open up:
“I don’t know, it just kind of feels good doesn’t it? I just think it’s good to open up about stuff and not keep it so like, you know, like up tight and you’ll go crazy and then you’ll go on an early flight and you know you want to go out there and turn to people you can trust, and all I’ve found about doing that is it encourages people to do the same and it seems to help people. So yeah, it feels good.” [23:29-24:01]
Having left WWE in 2021 to recharge her personal batteries, Storm also stated that her new attitude is to focus on herself and to keep a clear mind:
"I was not in a good state of mind, I was not taking good care of myself. I was really down, I wasn’t talking to people, I wasn’t asking for help. I don’t know, something happened last year I guess where I snapped out of it and I went ‘right, I’m going to take care of myself, me and me first’, because I’m not good to anyone unless I do that. So I’ve undergone this transformation of just keep a clear head and just ‘get your s*** together Toni!’” [24:53-25:29]
Toni Storm has bounced back in style since her WWE departure
This new attitude that Toni Storm has brought into 2022 has done her a world of good, as she is not only thriving in AEW, but she has also performed well in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.
Storm debuted on the March 30th edition of Dynamite against The Bunny, where she won in convincing fashion to qualify for the Owen Hart Cup. Since then, she has defeated Jamie Hayter to move on to the semi-finals where she will meet Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D.
Outside of the tournament, Toni Storm has picked up two wins on AEW Dark, plus a tag team victory with Ruby Soho over Baker and Hayter. Storm currently sits on an undefeated AEW record of five wins and zero losses. If she keeps up this positive mental attitude, she might have the Owen Hart Cup in the bag.
Please credit AEW Unrestricted and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling when using quotes from this article.
