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I was lucky enough to be able to talk to Toni Storm recently about her upcoming title defence at NXT TakeOver UK: Cardiff and her relatively successful first year and a bit with WWE and the weight of being one of the fastest rising stars in professional wrestling.
One of the main things that became immediately clear after speaking to Storm for just a few minutes is that she is completely dumbstruck and in awe of the achievements in an extremely humbling way.
There is no question that Toni Storm has a huge future ahead of her in professional wrestling, anyone that has seen her in-ring ability at the age of 23 can comfortably predict big things. For example, many would consider the NXT UK Women's Title to be just the first of many titles in a long and illustrious career. However, Storm's feet are so firmly on the ground she doesn't feel her NXT UK Women's Championship reign is real, something she said in a recent interview with Alicia Atout.
At one point during our chat, she said, "people like me don't do things like this" when discussing the success she'd found in WWE so far, winning the second Mae Young Classic and claiming the NXT Women's Title. But achieving success in the wrestling industry is something I feel Storm is going to have to get used to, starting with defending her title on August 31st at TakeOver: Cardiff.
So, without further ado, here's my discussion with Toni Storm about TakeOver: Cardiff, Kay Lee Ray, the pressure of being 'a future star' and her current injury status following recent reports.
You are set to defend your NXT UK Women's Title against Kay Lee Ray at NXT TakeOver UK: Cardiff, how are you feeling about it?
Storm: "I'm feeling quite a lot of things. Obviously this is the biggest defence that I've had so far and it's not just against anyone, it's against Kay Lee Ray who's been one of my best friends, if not family to me for the longest time, ever since moving to the UK. So there's been a lot of emotions going into it, a lot of nerves, even excitement. I just get, you know, quite worked up going into matches this big. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. Yeah, this is quite a big one!"
The feud between Toni Storm and Kay Lee Ray has been well done.
After Storm complemented several superstars but failed to praise Kay Lee Ray the cracks in their friendship started to show. Then, Kay Lee Ray won the first-ever NXT UK Women's Battle Royal to earn a title shot.
Then her ambition got the better of their friendship and she started to play a series of mind games with Storm until announcing when she'd cash-in her title opportunity. But, she vowed to make Storm's life a living hell until TakeOver: Cardiff when that match would take place.
Storm on Kay Lee Ray breaking kayfabe to bring in personal stuff about her during their feud
Obviously you mentioned that you and Kay Lee Ray were friends. I was at the television tapings in Plymouth so I got to see live her altercation with you and her in the ring. But there was a moment where she said some very personal stuff about you, and how everyone around you eventually leaves you. Were those based on real-life things, or was it all storyline and how does it feel to have personal things like that used by your opponents?
Storm: "To be honest a lot of that was real. The thing that's so unique about this is that there's a lot of real stuff involved. It's kind of bringing out a different side to me I think, going into this because very rarely does it get personal at this level. Especially by someone that I've known and trusted for such a long time. It's brought out a whole different emotion out of me I'm feeling a lot of things all at once. All I can say is that it's going to be one hell of a fight because if you bring up personal stuff it can get a bit different.
Toni Storm on if she thinks her match with Kay Lee Ray at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff will be the 'match of the night'
Speaking of your match being 'one hell of a fight', Kay Lee Ray did an interview with GiveMeSport earlier on this month where she said fans can 'expect something spectacular'. How much do you worry about putting on a 'good match' a 'five-star match', you know a match that people will look at and say that was the best match of the night?
Storm: "When I'm there with people like Kay Lee I'm not even worried because for the longest time, as best friends, we would put on incredible matches. I've had the best matches of my life against Kay Lee Ray. But now that we have actual heat now, and personal stuff has gone backwards and forwards I really have a good feeling about this one. I know that I can take it to a whole different level if she could 'push my buttons' you could say!
Coming up on the next page: Toni Storm reveals if she's actually injured, why she dropped out of the wXw show, and what her status for TakeOver: Cardiff actually is.
Toni Storm reveals why she dropped out of her scheduled wXw appearance and discusses her current injury status
Even though Storm's title defence against Kay Lee Ray was scheduled for the 31st, reports surfaced from f4wonline last week that Toni Storm pulled out of a scheduled appearance for independent promotion wXw because he was injured, throwing her match at Cardiff in doubt. I wanted to clear the air and get to the bottom of what was really going on.
I want to get one thing out of the way though. There were reports online that you were injured recently. Are you going to be okay for TakeOver? What's happening there?
Storm: "Well basically, I'm travelling a lot, I'm working a lot, I'm doing a lot of shows. Obviously, I'm going to be okay for TakeOver. I just had to cancel a few bookings to prevent injury because sometimes you just get to a point and after ten years my body starts to, kind of, fail me a little bit."
She did go on to reveal that this was prompted by a small issue with her shoulder and that it was a case of resting up and being more safe than sorry,
Storm: "But yeah, I did have a little bit of an issue with my shoulder and I just needed to take a break because there's so much at stake. I'm going into the biggest match of my career so far. My biggest title defence since being champion. So I just have to actually take care of myself for a few weeks leading into this. I can't take any risks at the moment because what we do to our bodies can be so dangerous so I'm basically just getting myself in proper condition because there's so much at stake."
Toni Storm on being able to wrestle for other promotions outside of WWE NXT UK and the positives and negatives of that
Obviously, as part of being in NXT UK, you can wrestle for other promotions, you can go to other independent promotions and you do end up wrestling a lot. Do you enjoy that, getting out there to as many different places and wresting as often as you can?
Storm: "Oh, hell yeah! That's the best part. We still get to do loads of different and exciting things. Like every single company that I go to, whether I'm working at NXT UK, or wXw or Progress, everything is so different that it helps keep it interesting. But at the same time, it does, of course, take its toll. Which is why I've had to really just get serious and really take care of myself going into [NXT TakeOver: Cardiff]
Coming up on the next page: Toni Storm reveals her thoughts on her WWE career so far, WWE doing another Evolution or 'Queen of the Ring' and what her thoughts are on Becky Lynch.
Toni Storm on her success in WWE, wanting to headline WrestleMania
Despite her belief that people 'like her' don't usually find success in the wrestling ring, as I mentioned in the intro, it certainly cannot be denied that Storm's first two years with WWE have been, perhaps, as full of success as they can get. I wanted to find out how Storm was feeling about her WWE tenure so far.
You've said that TakeOver: Cardiff is a huge match but you've also had a fairly successful time in WWE in general, you did fairly well in the first Mae Young Classic, you won the second one at WWE Evolution and you won the NXT UK Women's Title shortly after that. Are you pleased with how your WWE career is going?
Storm: "Yeah, to be honest, I'm really proud of all the achievements I've made because It's not something I ever thought I could do because people like me don't do things like this but at the same time I'm ready to step it up to the next level. I want to be the best NXT Women's Champion there is, and then take it from there. I was just want to keep on that road and just hopefully get to the main roster and take out some championships there.
So is that the end goal for you, to get to the main roster and win some of the world championships there and wrestle people like Bayley and Charlotte and Becky Lynch and kind of prove that you might be one of the best in the business?
Storm: "Yeah, that's the dream! I want to headline WrestleMania, whether that's with Becky Lynch or anyone else, that's what I want to do. I guess I won't stop until I get there!
As you can see, even though Storm may be humble she has lofty ambitions and is certainly driven to achieve them. Would you be interested in a Becky Lynch vs Toni Storm match? I certainly would.
Toni Storm on WWE Evolution and a possible Queen of the Ring?
Obviously it's not been announced yet, but you were on the Evolution card last year in what many considered to the match of the night against Io Shirai, so would you want to appear on another Evolution? Do you think WWE should do more all-female shows in general?
Storm: "Hell yeah! I'm always open to that idea, especially with Evolution doing so well last year. So who knows what we'll see. But, it's amazing to see how far it's come since then as well. There are more women on the shows than ever right now, so I really can't complain, the women have done so well. Regardless of whether we have another Evolution or not, we're exactly where we need to be and it's only going to keep getting better!
One of the other things that was mentioned this week by Bayley was that she thought there should be a Queen of the Ring tournament? What are your thoughts on that?
Storm: "Yeah, I think it's definitely something that could happen, I mean why not? If people are talking about it then it's probably going to happen. It all just starts with a few people voicing what they want to see and then who knows what can happen!
Toni Storm on possibly teaming up with Becky Lynch in the future
That's how the main roster women's tag-team titles ended up being introduced, because there was a big campaign for them? Obviously, you're a singles wrestler at the moment but would you like to be in a tag-team at some point and which partners would you like to have?
Storm: "Oh that's a tough one. I am open to it though, I'm just trying to think who would I be best suited to. I've said Becky Lynch before, as much as I want to have a match against her, I think we'll be a hell of a team as well!
Coming up on the next page: Toni Storm reveals whether or not she feels pressure to live up to the expectations of people who think she's a future star
Toni Storm opens up the pressure of being a future star and having to succeed because 'there's nothing else'
You're probably aware that many people consider you to be one of the most promising female wrestlers there are at the moment in terms of your age and your potential for the future. Does that put pressure on you to live up to those sentiments or do you try not to worry about that too much?
Storm: "I think there definitely is a lot of pressure but I think that's a good thing. I think people progress out of pressure. I've definitely achieved all the things I have because I've felt so much stress that it's pushed me to do better."
She added that most of the pressure comes from herself.
Storm: "There is a lot of high hopes for me to continue doing really well and get bigger and bigger. Yeah, I kind of put the pressure on myself rather than take it from other people because I really do have nothing else. There's nothing to fall back on, there's no back-up plan, it's this or nothing so that's the biggest part of the pressure. I really have to succeed or there's nothing else!"
Toni Storm will defend her NXT UK Women’s Championship at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff. Streaming LIVE on the award-winning WWE Network, August 31. Last tickets are still available from https://motorpointarenacardiff.co.uk/whats-on/nxt-uk-live
