Toni Storm was planned to win the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament, setting her on course to face Thekla at AEW All In London 2026.
With the final of the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament taking place at Forbidden Door on June 28, Mercedes Mone will face Maya World, with the winner heading to AEW All In to face Thekla for the Women’s World Championship on August 30.
That wasn’t always the plan however, according to the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, with Dave Meltzer revealing that plans originally involved Toni Storm.
According to Meltzer, plans changed after Toni Storm went on hiatus, with a report in March noting the star would be absent ‘for a long time‘ due to undisclosed injuries, with plans then changing to Thekla vs. Willow Nightingale for the AEW Women’s World Championship in London.
With Nightingale out of action due to injury, and forced to vacate the TBS Championship and withdrawn from the Owen Hart Tournament, plans would shift once again, leading AEW to its current state of play for the finals.
Mercedes Mone progressed to the finals with a victory over Hazuki, while Maya World defeated Athena to secure her spot at Forbidden Door.
The 2025 final saw Mercedes Mone defeat Jamie Hayter, going on to face Toni Storm in a losing effort for the AEW Women’s World Championship at All In last year.
The Best Laid Plans
Not for the first time, wrestling pay-per-view plans have seemingly changed due to the lack of availability of the stars involved.
Injury is a common occurrence in professional wrestling, and remains a largely undesirable one, with stars hoping to be able to make a timely return to in-ring action and creative having to take steps to navigate a new plan, with stories that can no longer be told.
There must be tense times behind-the-scenes as creative chart a new path, while also being very much aware that the reason things have changed is due to a very real injury that may see a star absent from months at a time, or longer.
With multiple stars in WWE and AEW sidelined through injury, fans are left hoping for a healthy return, along with making a comeback to the ring, safe in the knowledge that the best medical care is on hand.
That said, rushing back to the ring is never a sound option, however eager a star may be to follow that path. A return can wait and, arguably, it seems that companies such as WWE and AEW are more interested in waiting for the right moment for the comeback, rather than rushing back to television and facing the possibility of re-injury.
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