After her return during NXT Takeover 31, Toni Storm spoke with Mike Johnson of PWInsider.
In the interview, she reflected on her return after she had a few months off and previewed a potential match with Io Shirai. Here are some highlights:
On how having time off helped her:
Storm: “Well to be honest, I think…all this time off, I must admit has changed me. It changed my perspective a lot. Obviously, it’s done wonders for me physically because I’m not being beat up every week, like I had some time to get myself together, get to feeling good again. Mentally, it was very strange, it was very weird but I think it put in perspective how much I need this because it was…it’s been the longest time I ever had off since I was 13 so it was…it was weird and it didn’t sit right with me, I didn’t really like it that much, so I think I’m gonna come back with like, a whole different attitude. I’m fresh and I’m ready and I’m more pumped than ever because it really does put everything in perspective – how much this really is my life. I think everyone can expect some good stuff.”
On returning at the same time as Ember Moon and potentially facing Io Shirai:
Storm: “Yeah, I just think it adds a lot more excitement to the mix and like, I’m up for the challenge. She didn’t know that I was going to be returning, I didn’t know that she was going to be returning. That just kinda made it all the more exciting I think, and obviously she’s gonna want to be going after Io but everyone’s trying to go after Io and like, the difference with me is I’ve already beaten Io before, I know exactly how to do it, I know where all her weaknesses are and so I’m pumped, I’m ready.”
On her NXT UK feud with Kay Lee Ray:
Storm: “It was brutal…brutal definitely was the word for it, and it did affect me a lot mentally. Kay Lee Ray legitimately was one of my best friends. When I first moved to the UK that was the girl that took me under her wing, she showed me the ropes, she showed me how it worked up there, she did a lot for me, she was a very dear friend to me, we’ve had a lot of good times, we’ve traveled the world together, and then like, to see that all fall apart, it broke me a lot, next thing I know, she’s dumping a chair over my neck and people are begging me to say I quit, like it did a lot…it messed with me a lot, legitimately, but I’m happy I got past that, I was able to still get up after all that torture and go no, I’m gonna keep going, I’m gonna do big things and yeah, I just thought you know what? If I can’t compete for the title again, I’m gonna go somewhere else where I can – regardless, I’m gonna be a champ somewhere, sometime, that’s just how it works.”
