Account
Rumors on Toni Storm's WWE Release; Miro Injury Update; McIntyre on Retirement Plan
December 31, 2021
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.
Storm Reportedly Had Schedule Changed Before WWE Departure
WWE reportedly made a late change to Toni Storm's schedule before she departed the company this week.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), WWE informed Storm at 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday that she was needed for that night's live event in Washington, D.C.
Storm reportedly wasn't scheduled for the show initially, but she went on to face SmackDown women's champion Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks in a Triple Threat.
That turned out to be Storm's final WWE match, as Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp reported Wednesday that she was "gone" from the company.
After speaking to WWE sources, Sapp added in a subsequent report that the belief within the company was that Storm wanted out rather than WWE choosing to release her.
Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net followed up with a report that the 26-year-old Australian paid for her own flight home from Washington, D.C. and effectively quit the company after Tuesday's live event.
Now, the former NXT UK women's champion is a free agent, and she will be free to sign with any company after her 90-day non-compete clause ends.
Regardless of where she ends up, Storm is a major loss for WWE, as she seemingly had the potential to be a top star in the women's division and was just coming off a SmackDown women's title feud against Flair.
Miro Reportedly Dealing with Hamstring Injury
Miro's recent in-ring absence is reportedly due to an injury he has been dealing with.
According to Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton), the former AEW TNT champion has a hamstring injury, which is why his leg was taped up during his most recent bouts.
Miro has wrestled sparingly since the end of September, which is when he dropped the TNT title to Sammy Guevara.
Formerly known in WWE as Rusev, Miro did not wrestle at all in October, had two matches in November and did not work a match in December.
He was a late addition to the tournament to determine the No. 1 contender for the AEW World Championship, beating Orange Cassidy in the semifinals to set up a clash with Bryan Danielson in the finals.
Miro then lost that match to Danielson at AEW Full Gear on Nov. 13, leading to Danielson challenging "Hangman" Adam Page for the AEW world title.
While Miro has taken part in vignettes on Dynamite and Rampage since then, he has been out of in-ring action for over a month-and-a-half.
McIntyre Has Long-Term Plans to Keep Wrestling
Drew McIntyre has become one of WWE's top stars over the past couple of years, and he is looking to ride that wave for as long as possible.
In an interview with Mark Carman of Fansided, McIntyre discussed how much longer he intends to continue his pro wrestling career.
Fans of the Scottish Warrior can rest easy, as he said that his goal is to wrestle for at least another decade: "I ain't going anywhere. I'll be here as long as I can. I'm 36 years old, everybody thinks I am in my mid-40s because I debuted when I was so young. I still have at least 10 years in me. Don't count me out yet."
As McIntyre alluded to, he made his WWE debut way back in 2007 at the age of 22. He eventually became a key member of the WWE roster, winning the Intercontinental Championship and earning the nickname "The Chosen One."
Things went south for McIntyre, however, and he was released by WWE in 2014. After a couple of years wrestling for other promotions, McIntyre made his WWE return in 2017 and hasn't looked back.
McIntyre won the NXT Championship shortly after his return, faced Roman Reigns at WrestleMania less than three years ago and won the 2020 men's Royal Rumble match before going on to beat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 36.
While McIntyre is residing in the midcard currently, he seems to be waiting for another opportunity at the top, as he is the prime candidate to beat Reigns for the universal title aside from Lesnar.
McIntyre likely has many years and championships ahead of him, which speaks to the perseverance he has displayed throughout his career.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).