Toni Storm

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

Storm Reportedly Had Schedule Changed Before WWE Departure

WWE reportedly made a late change to Toni Storm's schedule before she departed the company this week.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), WWE informed Storm at 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday that she was needed for that night's live event in Washington, D.C.

Storm reportedly wasn't scheduled for the show initially, but she went on to face SmackDown women's champion Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks in a Triple Threat.

That turned out to be Storm's final WWE match, as Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp reported Wednesday that she was "gone" from the company.

After speaking to WWE sources, Sapp added in a subsequent report that the belief within the company was that Storm wanted out rather than WWE choosing to release her.

Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net followed up with a report that the 26-year-old Australian paid for her own flight home from Washington, D.C. and effectively quit the company after Tuesday's live event.

Now, the former NXT UK women's champion is a free agent, and she will be free to sign with any company after her 90-day non-compete clause ends.

Regardless of where she ends up, Storm is a major loss for WWE, as she seemingly had the potential to be a top star in the women's division and was just coming off a SmackDown women's title feud against Flair.

Miro Reportedly Dealing with Hamstring Injury

Miro's recent in-ring absence is reportedly due to an injury he has been dealing with.

According to Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton), the former AEW TNT champion has a hamstring injury, which is why his leg was taped up during his most recent bouts.

Miro has wrestled sparingly since the end of September, which is when he dropped the TNT title to Sammy Guevara.

Formerly known in WWE as Rusev, Miro did not wrestle at all in October, had two matches in November and did not work a match in December.

He was a late addition to the tournament to determine the No. 1 contender for the AEW World Championship, beating Orange Cassidy in the semifinals to set up a clash with Bryan Danielson in the finals.

Miro then lost that match to Danielson at AEW Full Gear on Nov. 13, leading to Danielson challenging "Hangman" Adam Page for the AEW world title.

While Miro has taken part in vignettes on Dynamite and Rampage since then, he has been out of in-ring action for over a month-and-a-half.

McIntyre Has Long-Term Plans to Keep Wrestling

Drew McIntyre has become one of WWE's top stars over the past couple of years, and he is looking to ride that wave for as long as possible.

In an interview with Mark Carman of Fansided, McIntyre discussed how much longer he intends to continue his pro wrestling career.

Fans of the Scottish Warrior can rest easy, as he said that his goal is to wrestle for at least another decade: "I ain't going anywhere. I'll be here as long as I can. I'm 36 years old, everybody thinks I am in my mid-40s because I debuted when I was so young. I still have at least 10 years in me. Don't count me out yet."

As McIntyre alluded to, he made his WWE debut way back in 2007 at the age of 22. He eventually became a key member of the WWE roster, winning the Intercontinental Championship and earning the nickname "The Chosen One."

Things went south for McIntyre, however, and he was released by WWE in 2014. After a couple of years wrestling for other promotions, McIntyre made his WWE return in 2017 and hasn't looked back.

McIntyre won the NXT Championship shortly after his return, faced Roman Reigns at WrestleMania less than three years ago and won the 2020 men's Royal Rumble match before going on to beat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 36.

While McIntyre is residing in the midcard currently, he seems to be waiting for another opportunity at the top, as he is the prime candidate to beat Reigns for the universal title aside from Lesnar.

McIntyre likely has many years and championships ahead of him, which speaks to the perseverance he has displayed throughout his career.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).

Toni Storm reportedly left WWE this week due to feeling burned out from working for the company.

During Thursday's edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer cited "burnout" as the only reason he was given when asking sources about Storm's surprising departure (beginning at the 2:00 mark):

Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp was the first to report Wednesday that Storm was "gone" from the company. In a follow-up, Sapp noted that those within WWE he spoke to believed Storm asked for her release.

In another report, Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net wrote that Storm paid for her own flight home after facing SmackDown Women's champion Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks in a Triple Threat match at a live event Tuesday.

Haynes added that it was Storm's way of quitting the company, and WWE subsequently granted her request.

Storm signed with WWE in 2017 and made her debut as part of the inaugural Mae Young Classic. She later went on to be one of the faces of NXT UK and became the second person to hold the NXT UK Women's Championship.

The 26-year-old Aussie won the second Mae Young Classic tournament and eventually made the move from NXT UK to NXT.

Storm received her official main roster call-up in July, and while it took some time for her to be utilized consistently, she most recently took part in a feud with Flair.

Their rivalry led to a SmackDown Women's Championship match on last week's episode of SmackDown, which Charlotte won.

Storm was viewed as a potential future top star in the WWE women's division, but now her wrestling future is in question.

It is unclear if Storm intends to take time off even after her 90-day non-compete clause ends, but if she does return to wrestling, she figures to be a hot commodity on the free-agent market.

AEW and Impact Wrestling would both likely express a great deal of interest, plus she would undoubtedly have options in the United Kingdom and Japan, which are two countries she excelled in before joining WWE.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).

Following Toni Storm's departure from WWE on Wednesday, Raw women's champion Becky Lynch expressed hope that she and Storm could still work together in the future.

According to Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News, Lynch posted a photo of Storm on her Instagram story with the caption, "I hope we meet in the ring one day."

Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp reported Wednesday that Storm was "gone" from WWE, and he later confirmed the information with the company.

Details surrounding her departure were initially unclear, but Sapp (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News) later reported that Storm requested and was granted her release.

In another follow-up, Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net reported that Storm paid for her own flight home after working a Triple Threat match against Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks at a live event on Tuesday and essentially quit the company.

The timing of the 26-year-old Australian's decision to leave WWE comes as something of a shock since she just competed in a SmackDown Women's Championship match against Flair on last week's episode of SmackDown.

While Storm is set to become a free agent when her non-compete clause expires, Lynch continues to be the face of the women's division on Raw.

She has long established herself as one of WWE's top stars, and there was excitement among fans about some of the young up-and-comers she could eventually wrestle, with Storm undoubtedly on that list.

Lynch and Storm have never faced each other in any capacity, and while it could still happen at some point in the future, a bout won't be in the cards any time soon.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).

WWE has released former NXT UK women's champion Toni Storm, according to Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp.

The move comes less than a week after Storm unsuccessfully challenged Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown women's title on Christmas Eve.

Wednesday's news comes as a bit of a shock given Storm's age (26) and the promise she showed during her NXT UK run. The New Zealand native seemed to be a long-term piece of the women's division.

Prior to capturing the NXT UK women's title, she won the Mae Young Classic in 2018 after beating Io Shirai at the Evolution pay-per-view.

Speaking with Ryan Satin on his Out of Character podcast (via Anutosh Bajpai of SEScoops), Storm recounted a night backstage when she had grown a bit anxious by her lack of progress on the main roster:

It's the worst cause you just don't know. Obviously, wrestling [can be] so unpredictable. Next week you could be main eventing and winning a title and everything could be happening or nothing. You don't know. This is show business at the end of the day. It's a topsy turvy industry.

Sapp reported his sources "believe [Storm] asked for her release from the company."

By representing SmackDown at Survivor Series and feuding with Flair, she seemed to be hitting her stride. But her comments to Satin underscore how life in WWE can feel precarious for those who aren't at the top of the promotion.

The company has shed a significant amount of talent over the past year. In a number of cases, the wrestlers built a solid profile in NXT or NXT UK before seeing their careers stall on Raw or SmackDown.

WWE has allowed its women's division to stagnate by spotlighting the same handful of stars over and over again. The division's depth has been thinned out further as a result of the roster cuts.

Many will argue Storm was failing to hit her ceiling through no fault of her own. In that sense, it's understandable if she thought the grass looks greener outside of WWE.