Opinion
Cook: Toni’s Heel Time Is Now
Toni Storm turned heel on WWE NXT in a move no one saw coming, and Steve Cook completely understands why.
Toni Storm turned heel on WWE NXT in a move no one saw coming, and Steve Cook completely understands why.
I see a lot of people out there wondering why Toni Storm turned on Ember Moon and joined Candice LeRae’s army of miscreants. They didn’t see it coming. Toni was a nice girl, had been ever since she appeared in the first Mae Young Classic. She was a popular winner of the second edition of that event, then moved on to NXT UK, where she was a popular Women’s Champion.
Toni wound up losing that championship to Kay Lee Ray, and eventually lost a match that stipulated that she couldn’t challenge for that particular title as long as Ray retains it. Everybody in NXT UK went on a long hiatus right afterwards due to the coronavirus and other issues involving some of the talents’ activities outside of the ring. Once that ended, Toni didn’t return to NXT UK. Instead, she moved over to the United States and joined the main NXT brand.
Here’s what you need to realize about Toni Storm.
The number one thing that motivates her is championships. Take a look at her international track record and you’ll see that. Everywhere Toni Storm has gone, she’s won championships. She broke in with Impact Pro Wrestling in Australia/New Zealand, and won every title she could there. Went to Japan, dominated the STARDOM promotion, winning every title she could there. Dominated Europe too. First Progress Women’s Champion. Won the wXw Women’s Championship twice. Won multiple tournaments on multiple continents.
Winning is what Toni Storm is all about. She’s not in this profession to make friends, she’s here to win titles and make money. If she makes friends along the way, that’s cool, but she’s more interested in the titles & money. Maybe more interested in the titles than the money, I’m not 100% sure what she’s into more there, but it really does seem like she likes those belts.

Take a look at the NXT landscape.
The NXT Women’s Champion is Io Shirai. Io is a popular champion, widely considered one of the best in the business and has a charisma about her that made people want to cheer her even when she wanted to be jeered. We’ve kind of reached the point where we’re looking for believable challengers for her, since she’s beaten everybody.
Candice LeRae is the captain of the WarGames team that Toni decided to join. Let’s be honest. Candice has established herself as somebody that can’t win the big one. The Lex Luger of the NXT Women’s Division. She’s lost two straight matches to Io Shirai, and there’s little reason to think that she can get it done in a third match.
Then there’s Dakota Kai. She got her shot at Io’s championship and lost. She got shots at previous champions and lost as well. Sure, she’s got Raquel Gonzalez by her side, but her win/loss record lately doesn’t exactly justify her getting another title shot. Nor can we justify Raquel Gonzalez getting a title shot, she hasn’t won a singles match since May.
Toni’s a smart woman with a taste for gold.
She realizes that winning War Games with this team would put her in a prime slot. If she could get the winning fall, well, that’d put her right in line for a title shot. Rhea Ripley used that to her advantage last year, and you know Toni knows all about that. Folks like me have declared that Toni Storm & Rhea Ripley are the future of WWE’s women’s divisions. Toni knows all too well that Rhea has moved ahead of her in the pecking order. Rhea already held the NXT Women’s Championship. Rhea is the one being rumored to make a move to either Raw or SmackDown, not Toni. Rhea already had her WrestleMania debut match. She’s ahead of Toni Storm in any way you can think of, which has to drive Toni nuts.
Toni’s very ambitious. She knows that Rhea Ripley is her main rival for domination of WWE’s various women’s divisions for the next few years or so. If she’s going to catch Rhea, she needs to win that NXT Women’s Championship. The best way to do that is to join forces with other folks that are dangerous, but aren’t seen as true threats.
Also, I get the feeling that Shotzi Blackheart crying over a tank turned Toni off of that potential friendship. It was a pretty weird moment that I doubt Toni could connect with.
Toni Time is coming.
This is part of the process. Every young wrestler goes through this. They need to turn heel to make you appreciate them more. Nobody these days can be a babyface from start to finish. We need to see their whole skillset. From where I sit, Toni Storm’s skillset is more conducive to making the unwashed masses boo her. At least for now. As we all know, things can change.
At this moment, Toni Storm needs you to boo her so she can attain her goals. I ask you to respect her wishes.
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Opinion
Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions,
The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight.
This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail.
The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions.
After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama
gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania.
It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company.
We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!
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Opinion
Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call.
Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story.
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line.
In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years?
Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus.
I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?
Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!
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