Toni Storm was in the middle of a feud with WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair when she decided to leave WWE in December 2021.
Storm asked for her release after a live event in Washington, DC, which was quickly granted. Storm had been called up to WWE SmackDown in the summer, but was used sparingly on television during her time on the brand.
Speaking to Chris Jericho on Talk Is Jericho, Storm recalled her final conversation with Vince McMahon before leaving the company.
"Vince seemed quite high on me on my last day. He was taking time to talk to me, stuff seemed like it was starting to get moving, but I just didn't trust it. Something didn't sit right. He was giving me some guidance on what he thinks I should do, this, that, and the other. I'm grateful for the opportunity, but 'no thanks,'" she recalled.
Storm leaving WWE caught many by surprise given her position at the time on television. Storm had months of pent up frustration due to sitting in catering and the final week, she hit her breaking point.
"It was Christmas time and I had about five shows, a big loop, I think it was Tampa, Orlando, DC, Baltimore, Albany. I'm ready to do this shit. I booked everything and am ready to go and start working. Christmas Eve, I get told, 'you're just on one of them. Just Tampa.' Fine, whatever. I go to Tampa, I don't have a match, it's running around and doing the 24/7 Title thing with Dana Brooke. Fine, okay, cool. Shit happens, it's Christmas time, it's busy, I get it. The next day, I get a phone call in the afternoon saying, 'You realize you're on the show tonight, right?' 'No, but I'll be there.' I had a feeling it would happen. I go, I wrestle Sasha and Charlotte for the title. Cool, we're moving. Following this is that three-day loop. I was told and confirmed numerous times with numerous people, 'You're not on it.' I'm up all night, regardless. 'They're going to put me on it. I'm going to be ready.' 6 am comes, I don't hear from them, I get on with the day as normal," she reflected.
Storm continued, telling when she received the call from WWE and what was going through her mind.
"I go to the dentist around 11, I'm in the chair, tubes in my mouth, my phone starts going insane. They need me to be on a plane in two hours. How do you say no? You can't say no because you get heat. You're backed into a corner. 'I have to do this.' I actually want to do this, but it's been made extremely difficult for me. I'm pulled out of the chair, I race home, grab my things, get to the airport. There's then pent-up frustration. I get to the show, it's halfway through the show in DC. Get there, do the match, ughh. I still can't put it into words. The overall frustration, the lack of respect for my time and effort. I want to give this my all and everything, my whole life, I want to give it all to you guys, but you're making it friggin difficult. I lost it and I quit. I told them, 'I'm so unhappy. I need out.' I just quit. I told Johnny Ace. I messaged him. I wouldn't have cared if they didn't let me go. I wasn't going to show up. I wasn't going to do it anymore. I sat back and tried to be a good girl my whole life, I tried to be the best and be professional and do everything by the book and in a respectful way. I just cracked," she said.
When asked how John Laurinaitis responded to her asking for her release, she said, "He was actually really cool with me. I thought I was going to get my ass handed to me and they were going to be mad. I just didn't care. I was over it. It doesn't sound like much of a reason to leave, this shit happens all the time, I get that. You can call me on the day of a show anytime you'd like and that's fine, I'll be there, but for some reason that was the thing that drove me off the edge."
After waiting out her 90-day non-compete clause, which she said she wasn't paid for, Storm made her AEW debut on the March 30 episode of AEW Dynamite.
On Wednesday's AEW Dynamite, Storm saved AEW Women's Champion Thunder Rosa from an attack and then teased coming after the AEW Women's Championship.
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