Wrestling News: Toni Storm vs. Charlie Morgan, Viper on ICW Title Match

Toni Storm won the PROGRESS Wrestling Women’s Championship last year on May 28, 2017, at Strong Style 16, and she will defend that same title at this year’s show. Meanwhile, Viper, whom Storm defeated in one of the Mae Young Classic’s best matches, has her own title defense coming up in ICW.

There are few wrestlers on the Independent Wrestling scene who dazzle the crowd as consistently as Toni Storm, who was one of the biggest standouts at WWE’s Mae Young Classic (to the point where I still get tweets from fans wondering why she wasn’t signed).

Storm doesn’t have Austin Aries’s “belt collector” gimmick, but her list of hardware is just as extensive and likely more impressive. She is the World of Stardom Champion, the wXw Women’s Champion, and the PROGRESS Women’s Champion.

It’s the last of those three belts that will be defended on May 7 at Alexandra Palace in North London. Storm’s opponent? The prolific Charlie Morgan, who will have another huge title match two days before this, main eventing EVE Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Queendom, which is billed as Europe’s biggest women’s wrestling event in history. Morgan will take on current champion Sammi Jayne.

There’s no doubt that Morgan vs. Storm will be an exciting match at PROGRESS’s Super Strong Style 16, and it comes with an interesting stipulation. If Morgan loses this title match, she will be banned from the May 20 PROGRESS Chapter 69 show (unofficial name “Nice”) in Manchester, per the orders of House of Couture leader Jinny Couture.

Chapter 69 will surely be worth checking out, because the winner of Travis Banks vs. WALTER at Super Strong Style 16 will face Jack Sexsmith for the world title.

Viper Talks About ICW Title Match

In an interview with the Sunday Post’s Ross Crae, current ICW Champion (among other titles) Viper spoke about her upcoming ICW Women’s Championship defense against Kasey Owens at the big Barramania show.

"“Travelling across the world and everything I’ve done in the past year, I’ve always had in the back of my mind that I’m an ICW representative and I’m trying to almost repay them.”"

I love that type of loyalty, and Viper has to be ICW’s most recognizable star, especially after her work with the WWE during the Mae Young Classic.

And if you want to listen to a powerful message about the sacrifices she’s made as a professional wrestler? Watch this. This promo will get you hyped for her upcoming match against Owens, and it’s one of the best promos I’ve heard this year. I’ve copied an excerpt of it below, but I think you should click the link and watch the video to absorb her most impactful words.

Next: WWE SmackDown Grades And Analysis

“Insanity to me is lying in your bed every morning looking for a reason to get up, going to bed at night wondering why you (explicit) bothered. Insanity to me is devoting ten years of your life to something. Insanity is watching every single one of your relationships in life failing because you can’t do anything but focus on your career.”