Toni Storm


Toni Rossall is a New Zealand professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT UK brand under the ring name Toni Storm, where she was a former NXT UK Women's Champion. In Stardom, she is a former World of Stardom Champion and SWA World Champion. She also works extensively on the European independent circuit, where she is a former Progress Women's Champion and two-time wXw Women's Champion. In WWE, she competed in the 2017 and 2018 Mae Young Classic tournaments, making it to the semi-finals in 2017 and winning the tournament at WWE Evolution in 2018.

Early life

Toni Rossall was born in Auckland, New Zealand on 19 October 1995, but moved to Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia with her mother at the age of 4 when her parents broke up. At age 10, while living on the Gold Coast, she discovered WWE on television and developed a passion for professional wrestling.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Rossall began training at Impact Pro Wrestling's Australian affiliate and debuted for the company under the ring name Storm on 9 October 2009, when she was 13 years old. After five years of honing her skills in Australia, she decided she wanted to become a better wrestler; at the age of 18, she convinced her mother to let her move to England, where she moved into her grandmother's home in Liverpool. While in England, she trained under Dean Allmark. She started working internationally in countries such as Finland, France, Germany, and Spain. Storm took part in a WWE tryout camp in Melbourne on the 2014 WWE Australian tour and the 2015 WWE UK tour.

Progress Wrestling (2015–2018)

Storm made her debut for Progress Wrestling on 14 April 2015, being defeated by Elizabeth.
In May 2017, Storm became the first ever Progress Women's Champion after defeating Jinny and Laura Di Matteo in a three-way match. This match marked the first time that female wrestlers competed in the main event of a Progress event. Throughout the year, Storm went on to successfully defend the championship numerous times against challengers like Kay Lee Ray, Laura Di Matteo and Candice LeRae. She lost the title to Jinny at Chapter 69: Be Here Now.

World Wonder Ring Stardom (2016–2018)

In 2016, she began working for the Japanese World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion, where she won the SWA World Championship on 24 July. On 2 October 2016, Stardom officially announced that Storm had signed with the promotion. After winning the 2017 Cinderella Tournament on 30 April, Storm also won the 2017 5★Star GP on 18 September, becoming the first wrestler to win the two tournaments in the same year. On 24 September, Storm became the new World of Stardom Champion in an unplanned finish, when Mayu Iwatani was legitimately injured during a title defense against her, prompting the referee to stop the match and award Storm the title. On 9 June 2018 Storm lost the World of Stardom Championship against Kagetsu.

WWE

Mae Young Classic (2017–2018)

On 16 June 2017, WWE announced Storm as one of the first four participants of the Mae Young Classic. Storm entered the tournament on 13 July, defeating Ayesha Raymond in the first round. The following day, Storm defeated Lacey Evans in the second round and Piper Niven in the quarterfinals, before being eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by Kairi Sane.
On 9 May 2018, Storm was advertised for the upcoming United Kingdom Championship Tournament events. On 24 May, Dave Meltzer reported that Storm had signed a WWE contract. On 18 June at the United Kingdom Championship Tournament, Storm defeated Killer Kelly and Isla Dawn in a Triple threat match to become the #1 contender for the NXT Women's Championship. The following day at the NXT U.K. Championship, Storm was defeated by the defending NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler. On 28 October 2018, at WWE Evolution she defeated Io Shirai to win the 2018 Mae Young Classic.

NXT UK (2018–present)

On the 26 August episode of NXT UK, Storm lost to Rhea Ripley in a final tournament match to determine the inaugural NXT UK Women's Champion. In a rematch on 12 January 2019 at, Storm defeated Rhea Ripley to capture the NXT UK Women's Championship and reigned as champion until 31 August 2019 at, where Storm lost her NXT UK Women's Championship to Kay Lee Ray, ending her reign at 231 days.
On 24 November 2019 on the post-show Q&A session with Triple H, Storm was announced to be a part of the NXT Women's Survivor Series team by team captain Rhea Ripley. At Survivor Series, Storm was eliminated after Natalya and Sasha Banks aligned and locked in a Bank Statement/Sharpshooter Combination. At, Storm competed unsuccessfully in a triple threat match for the NXT UK Women’s Championship against Kay Lee Ray and Piper Niven. Storm participated in the women's Royal Rumble match at the namesake pay-per-view and entered at #20 but was eliminated by Shayna Baszler.

Championships and accomplishments