Toni Storm Beats Mina Shirakawa To Retain AEW Women's Title at Double or Nothing

Toni Storm beat Mina Shirakawa at Double or Nothing on Sunday to retain the AEW Women's World Championship.

The two former teammates clashed in a gritty, submission-heavy match that showcased their familiarity and rivalry.

Shirakawa looked poised for victory after a near fall that had the crowd on its feet, but Storm managed to kick out at the last second. With momentum swinging her way, Storm landed a decisive strike and secured the pinfall for the win.

Shirakawa made several appearances in AEW last year before returning to Japan, but she announced her departure from Stardom in March and went on to sign a full-time contract with AEW.

She returned to AEW on the May 14 episode of Dynamite, facing Storm, Skye Blue and AZM in a four-way Women's World Championship eliminator match.

Shirakawa surprisingly pinned Storm, cementing herself as No. 1 contender and earning a future title opportunity.

During Shirakawa's initial AEW stint, she was part of the storyline involving Storm and Mariah May. When Storm and Shirakawa faced off in a women's title match at Forbidden Door, which Storm won, May was torn on which of her friends to support.

Shortly thereafter, May turned on Storm and ended up beating her for the title, but Storm won it back at Grand Slam Australia earlier this year and entered Double or Nothing having held it for over three months.

Following her title win over May, Storm defeated May in a Falls Count Anywhere rematch at Revolution, and she also survived a tough challenge from Megan Bayne last month at Dynasty.

Storm was on a roll after that, taking down the likes of Queen Aminata, Miyu Yamashita, Lady Frost, Thunder Rosa, Anna Jay and Penelope Ford, but Shirakawa put a stop to that with her win in the four-way.

With momentum clearly on her side, Shirakawa entered Double or Nothing with a legitimate chance to become champion just 11 days after her return match.

However, she was unable to beat Storm twice in a row, and Timeless Toni continued her fourth reign as AEW women's world champion.

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