Toni Storm’s “Timeless” character in AEW is not just a gimmick of match presentation; it is an entire paradigm shift regarding what a wrestling character is in 2025.
Storm left behind the standard tough-girl wrestler mold and instead created an almost
black-and-white Hollywood starlet slowly coming apart at the seams. Think Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard, but in a ring with a shoe in one hand and breaking down in the other.
She is not just wrestling; she is acting. Her interviews are not promos; they are scenes. She addresses the camera as if it were a film crew. She throws shoes at people as if she were an actress lost in a screwball comedy. And she doesn’t break character.
That’s a rare level of commitment. Wrestling has always been a melding of sport and theatre, but Storm is leaning very much into the theater more than anyone else. She is mixing the fanciful chaos of the old Hollywood style with the upset of the new-and-it works. The audience loves it, probably because it feels so fresh and unpredictable.
AEW gave Storm room to experiment, and she ran with it. She has become more than just a standout in the women’s division; she is one of the most discussed acts in the company.
Storm is showing character work isn’t just a side dish-it can be the main course if done properly. And that is a lesson this entire industry should be learning.
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