Is Toni Storm a Swerve for Mercedes Moné to be Saraya's Mystery Partner in AEW?

All eyes will be on AEW Dynamite's women's tag team match this Wednesday when Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker battle Saraya and Toni Storm, at least according to what's currently advertised.

Prior to last week, Saraya's partner against Baker and Hayter had been kept a mystery. The belief was that if it was someone already active on the All Elite Wrestling roster, their identity would have been revealed outright.

AEW waited until a week out to announce Storm for the spot, seemingly eliminating any chance it might be the debuting Mercedes Moné. The way the reveal played out, however, has left fans wondering whether the former Sasha Banks will make her presence felt after all.

Everything is indicating that could be the case, not to mention the possibility of the partner being a returning Thunder Rosa instead. Even if it isn't Rosa or Moné, Storm makes as much sense as anyone to team up with Saraya given her long-running rivalry with Baker and Hayter.

AEW has created an incredibly interesting situation for this upcoming episode of Dynamite, one that could easily see Storm serving as a swerve to set up the highly anticipated arrival of the former WWE star.

Storm's Unfinished Business with Jamie Hayter

In addition to their previous friendship from years earlier, Storm and Jamie Hayter have had bad blood almost since the start of the Antipodean's AEW run.

The former NXT UK women's champion made enemies out of Hayter and Britt Baker in the women's Owen Hart Cup and exchanged wins with the both of them throughout 2022.

Their personal rivalry reached the next level when Hayter beat Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship at Full Gear in November with help from Baker.

Storm spoke soon after about how she broke her face losing the title and would be willing to do whatever was necessary to get it back.

She took several weeks off from AEW TV to recover before resurfacing on the Dec. 21 edition of Dynamite, helping Saraya and Hikaru Shida fend off Hayter and Baker. It was perfectly logical at that point for Saraya to announce Storm as her partner for the Jan. 11 episode in Los Angeles, but no announcement was made.

The decision to wait until last week to make it official is what makes the situation strange, but if Storm does ultimately team with Saraya and there are no shenanigans, then AEW isn't falsely advertising anyone or getting fans hopes up.

This would be the least compelling route to take, but at least it would serve a purpose and get Storm one step closer to a rematch with Hayter for the belt.

Hikaru Shida's Potential Heel Turn

What role Hikaru Shida will play (if any) in this tag team match on Dynamite is another intriguing element to consider.

There has been a renewed focus on the Japanese star on AEW TV as of late and for good reason. She and Hayter had one of the best AEW matches all year in 2022, though she was unsuccessful in regaining the AEW Women's World Championship.

That, combined with Saraya's comment about her believing Storm is the best women's wrestler in the world, exponentially increases the odds of a heel turn. It'd be a refreshing character change for her and a feud with Storm would immediately give her direction.

AEW has been known for its long-term storytelling (and sometimes waiting a little too long to deliver on things), so it's likely we don't see Shida betray Storm for a while. That said, Wednesday's Dynamite would be an ideal time for her to snap, attack Storm and prevent her from teaming with Saraya.

Not only does that set up a fresh Storm vs. Shida program right away, it also creates an opening for a certain someone to step in as Saraya's partner.

Tony Khan's Track Record of Surprises Living Up to the Hype

AEW President Tony Khan has earned a reputation over the years for hyping up too many announcements, returns and debuts in advance to a point where they don't mean as much as they should.

Fan expectations are rarely met, sometimes due to them being so unrealistically high. Letting the surprises speak for themselves without teasing anything in advance, a la Sting's Dynamite debut in 2020, is the way to go.

There have also been instances when he has overpromised and underdelivered (the signing of Christian Cage at Revolution 2021 comes to mind), but by and large, Khan doesn't disappoint in these situations. He's a lifelong fan at heart and aware of what fans want to see unless it's not feasible.

That's important to keep in mind in regards to the women's tag team match on Wednesday. Khan has obviously seen all the Mercedes Moné chatter and knows that her debuting would be the most satisfying scenario.

As previously noted, it's a smart call by the AEW boss to announce Storm for the spot alongside Saraya in case Moné isn't available or interested just yet. If she is, then the surprise and moment will be that much bigger.

Capitalizing on Moné's Momentum

Without question, Moné is the most talked-about women's wrestler in the world right now and will be for a while.

Following the expiration of her WWE contract on New Year's Day, she wasted no time in making a splash by debuting for New Japan Pro-Wrestling at Wrestle Kingdom 17 days later. As expected, she confronted IWGP women's champion Kairi and challenged her to a match at next month's Battle in the Valley event.

During the post-show press conference, Moné strongly hinted at Japan being the first stop on her world tour. That could mean she intends on wrestling in various places with the promotion (including California in February), but more likely, she plans on competing elsewhere without being bound by a contract.

The former Sasha Banks' stock is higher than it has been in years. Debuting in AEW one week removed from her historic arrival in NJPW would surely keep her momentum going strong.

Moné would be AEW's biggest female acquisition to date by far (and one of their biggest acquisitions ever) if she did put pen to paper, but it isn't imperative that she does. A one-off would be enough to leave viewers buzzing.

Holding off on making an AEW appearance until it's less expected would be understandable, but giving fans what they want to see when they want to see it typically tends to be the smartest and simplest approach.

Saraya's History with Moné

Saraya and Moné putting their past behind them and joining forces to take out AEW's two biggest female heels right now is a story that writes itself.

As many fans are aware, it was five years ago this month that the former Paige took an errant kick from Sasha Banks during a match at a live event and was forced to retire from in-ring competition as a result of the injury she sustained from it.

Based on interviews both women have done since then, there was never any ill-will between them due to it being a freak accident. That doesn't mean they can't turn that negative into a positive by having their desire to forgive and forget be the storyline reason why they've teamed up.

That's in addition to all the other history they have from the time they spent together in NXT a decade ago and playing pivotal roles in building that women's division from the ground up.

They've always had quality chemistry together that would translate well to them as tandem. All of these factors add up to the ideal introduction for Moné in AEW.

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Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.