WWE is missing out on Toni Storm’s star potential on SmackDown
“Where’s Toni Storm,” is the newest in the line of questions about WWE performers missing from television. Storm’s SmackDown debut was built for a few weeks via video packages and finally delivered to fans. Since then, nothing. If WWE has been consistent about anything in these last few years, it’s the organization’s penchant for inexplicably leaving talented performers off television and Storm is the latest victim of that practice.
Storm made her debut on SmackDown on July 23, defeating Zelina Vega in less than three minutes. This was a sudden call-up after an NXT tenure that many felt was lackluster. This is the same Storm that won the second edition of the Mae Young Classic and stood out as the NXT UK Women’s Champion. Before that, she was seen as one of the top women’s performers on the independent scene, performing across the world for promotions like ICW, Beyond, Progress, Stardom, and others.
Her signing with the WWE rightfully created a lot of interest, but her tenure hasn’t lived up to that ideal. Storm seemingly has all the intangibles that any wrestling organization would embrace. What she may lack in big personality on camera, she easily makes up for when it comes to her ability to work a match that viewers enjoy. And she has the look of someone that can be the face of a company looking to create more mainstream stars.
And yet, the WWE continues to go week-after-week without putting her in the ring. Recently, she’s been subjugated to a storyline with Dolph Ziggler showing attraction to her. This is the main play that WWE brings out when leveraging the women on their roster, some tired-out love angle. Ziggler’s been involved in quite a few lately, and you’d be hard-pressed to find an example of one that truly got its participants over with the crowd.
The SmackDown women’s division has depth with names like Shotzi Blackheart, Tegan Nox, Carmella, Naomi, and others as examples of who Storm could work with while building her up for a main event angle. Instead, WWE goes the route that it’s currently headed down, one that none of her fans asked to see.
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There’s a lot to complain about when it comes to WWE’s booking, but especially the booking of the women’s roster. Toni Storm’s callup from NXT and immediate disappearance from television shows that the promotion isn’t taking the steps for any long-term planning when it comes to roster development. This is unfortunate because Storm has the qualities that could help her become a new star that WWE needs at this time.