Toni Storm Released from WWE Contract; Had Title Match vs. Charlotte Flair Last Week

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Joseph Zucker will be featured Columnist IV on December 29, 2021.

The photo is from the website of the wrestling organization, WWE.com.

Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp said that the company has released a former women's champion.

Less than a week ago, Storm tried to challenge Charlotte for the women's title on Christmas Eve.

Storm's age (26) and the promise she showed during her run in the UK made Wednesday's news a bit of a shock. The New Zealand native seemed to be part of the women's division for a long time.

She won the Mae Young Classic after defeating Io Shirai at the Evolution pay-per-view.

Storm talked about a night backstage when she was a bit anxious about her lack of progress on the main roster in a conversation with Ryan Satin.

It's the worst because you don't know. Wrestling can be so unpredictable. Next week you could be main eventing and win a title, or nothing. You don't know. At the end of the day, this is show business. It's a topsy turvy industry.

According to his sources, Storm asked for her release from the company.

She seemed to be hitting her stride after she represented SmackDown at Survivor Series. She made comments about how life in the company can feel precarious for those who aren't at the top.

Over the past year, the company has lost a lot of talent. In a number of cases, the wrestlers built a good profile in the UK before their careers went south on Raw or SmackDown.

The women's division has been stagnant by being spotlighted the same handful of stars over and over again. As a result of the roster cuts, the division's depth has been further reduced.

Storm was failing to hit her ceiling, so many will argue. It's understandable if she thought the grass looked different outside of the company.