Toni Storm On Her History With Io Shirai, Title Shot on Tonight’s NXT

Toni Storm has her first NXT Women’s Championship singles match on NXT tonight when she faces Io Shirai, and she discussed her history with Shirai and more in a new interview with Sports Illustrated. You can check out some highlights below:

On her NXT Women’s Title match tonight: “This is the opportunity I’ve waited for. I have wrestled Io so many times, and every one of those matches means a lot to me. I’ve grown so much since our first match, even from our past matches, and I have a chance to show that against her in NXT.”

On her first match with Shirai in 2016: “That was the very first time we wrestled, which was during a European tour in Stardom. Hands down, she’s the best I’ve ever been in the ring with. Even now, still, I try to learn more about Io every day. I’m so lucky to have trained with her in Japan, back when I pretended to know what I was doing. I was so fortunate to be in her dojo, and I am grateful to have learned from someone so insanely talented.”

On both her development since then: “A lot has happened since we first wrestled. I was 20 in our first match. If you watch all our matches in order, it’s almost like you see me grow up.”

On her heel turn: “It’s the best thing to ever happen to me. I’ve finally found a way to show who I really am. I can really be creative, which is my favorite thing in wrestling. Before, promos were never my strong point. I used to hate talking. Not anymore. I love being mad and venting to the whole world. This is organic, it’s authentic. The new attitude, the outfits, it’s all who I am.”