Tony Khan Is Very Proud of What He’s Created With Toni Storm for Her ‘Timeless’ Character

Speaking to Conrad Thompson for an interview to preview AEW WrestleDream, AEW President and CEO Tony Khan spoke at length about creating the Timeless Toni Storm character, using Storm to unlock the character, and his pride in what they’ve created together. Below are some highlights:

Tony Khan on pitching the “Timeless” character to Toni Storm:

“Timeless Toni Storm who was not here at the beginning, and then when she did come in she had a great reputation and things evolved with Toni Storm and you know it’s cool because Tony Storm was even from the first year she was involved here was a big star, but then after that, she took some time in her second year to film a movie Queen of the Ring about some of the history of women’s wrestling. And I started to think about Timeless Toni Storm, and I said to her, ‘Do you ever watch old movies?’ And she said, ‘Sometimes,’ and she’s very young. She’s still in her 20s, and this was several years ago when she was in her mid-20s. And I was saying, ‘Hey Tony, have you ever seen All About Eve or Sunset Boulevard?’ And she said no. And I said, ‘Okay, these are movies. I have this idea for you, I think there’s something inside you that you could tap into and unlock.’ And it really worked out.”

On working in other ideas for the character:

“And I had a story worked out that was very similar to All About Eve, elements of the Bette Davis, which I think she’s like that, you know, she’s young now. It’s like young Bette Davis, but now she’s tapped into the thing that’s inside of her. She’s this great performer. She’s found and connected with what is the transcendent gimmick that has unlocked the wrestler, which is always that thing you want to find, but it’s also something she’ll be able to do for so long. And she’s got so much experience. For somebody in her 20s. This is somebody that’s already had 15 years of wrestling experience and regained the world title in her hometown of Brisbane. And then, really, the whole thing, All About Eve, not only the Bette Davis character being the featured star, but the story, you know, I had these ideas. I had even picked out a person I thought would be great for the Eve character who’s no longer with us. And I had a great thought on taking from Sunset Boulevard, the butler, and thinking, okay, well, I have a person here who I think looks a lot like the butler and would be great in this role in the background, in love with the star of the show, secretly. And that’s the butler from Sunset Boulevard, and that’s Luther in AEW.”

On how Timeless Toni Storm brought wrestling to Turner Classic Movies (TCM):

“And what’s cool is we’ve brought wrestling back to TBS and TNT, but through that character of Timeless Toni Storm, we’ve been able to also bring wrestling finally over to TCM, to Turner Classic Movies. Ben Mankiewicz got involved, and I’m really proud of what we created together, and I love working with Toni. Toni Storm is timeless. Toni Storm is something that was always inside a Tony Storm. Yes. And we’re able to talk and unlock it, and it’s fun, you know, kicking ideas around, but she’s fantastic.”

Timeless Toni Storm will be vying to regain the AEW Women’s World Title later tonight at AEW WrestleDream 2025, when she takes on recently crowned champion Kris Statlander. It will be the first time the two wrestlers have faced each other one-on-one.

AEW WrestleDream 2025 takes place later tonight at the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri. The show will be broadcast live on pay-per-view. You can also check out 411’s roundtable preview of tonight’s WrestleDream event RIGHT HERE.

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Conrad Thompson, with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.