Tony Khan details how Mariah May/Toni Storm angle was planned

[Chris]

Tony Khan Details the Rise of Mariah May in AEW

An idea from Tony Khan, classic Hollywood films from 1950, and Toni Storm redefining her character led to a new opportunity for Mariah May

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“I reached out and said I had this idea for her in AEW, and that it was a long-term plan,” said Khan. “She responded to me that night, and that’s how it all started.”

“Bryan Danielson and I were flying home from Double or Nothing, and we were talking about wrestling and what stuck out to us, and Bryan asked, ‘Have you seen Mariah?’” said Khan. “I said I had, and that I was amazed at how, very quickly, she’d become one of the top stars in Stardom. We both agreed she was very polished and charismatic. That’s when I asked Bryan if he’d seen All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard.”

“I went to Toni Storm and suggested these movies–All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard–because she had that larger-than-life persona like Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard and Bette Davis in All About Eve,” said Khan. “That is ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm. She’s that starlet, with that presence–backstage, in the ring, out of the ring–of one of those rare old Hollywood stars. This is the role Toni was born to play, and she is absolutely incredible at it.

“My right hand in all of this is RJ,” said Khan. “He was the only person in the office who’d seen All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard, and he understood old Hollywood and the old movies. He’s been so valuable and tremendous throughout this process. He has a great aptitude for wrestling, and he was also able to use these movies for inspiration.”

“I saw something in her, and I asked her to do something very different when she came to AEW,” said Khan. “There was even some backlash at the beginning when people were pushing back that she came into AEW as this big fan of Toni Storm, which was very different from what she was doing in Stardom. Now we’re going to learn how and why she did all this, and how she became one of the biggest stars in wrestling in less than a year in AEW.”

 

[Kross Rhodes]

Precisely what I’ve been saying. You can definitely tell this was all planned from before she even debuted on AEW television. It might be Tony’s best work and I’m so happy he didn’t deviate.

 

[Kross Rhodes]

Interesting too is I don’t watch stardom and even I heard waves about Mariah and slowly became a fan by specifically checking out what she was doing over there so when she came to AEW I already knew of her, but her work in AEW especially has made her a star and a favorite of mine. She’s going to be an AEW pillar of the women’s division for years.

 

[Chris]

Interesting too is I don’t watch stardom and even I heard waves about Mariah and slowly became a fan by specifically checking out what she was doing over there so when she came to AEW I already knew of her, but her work in AEW especially has made her a star and a favorite of mine. She’s going to be an AEW pillar of the women’s division for years.

One of the biggest things that caught my eye with her was when she did English commentary for the Stardom show April of 23 with NO NOTICE whatsoever bc the worker that was originally going to was concussed in the last pre show match and she was insanely good at it.

Which would have also been about when he had this conversation with Danielson

 

[Kross Rhodes]

One of the biggest things that caught my eye with her was when she did English commentary for the Stardom show April of 23 with NO NOTICE whatsoever bc the worker that was originally going to was concussed in the last pre show match and she was insanely good at it.

Which would have also been about when he had this conversation with Danielson

She really is the whole package. She gets what this is. She’s insanely good in the ring, has a character, can tell stories in and out of the ring and can cut a promo. Crazy to hear she can do commentary last minute as well.

 

[Kross Rhodes]

One of the biggest things that caught my eye with her was when she did English commentary for the Stardom show April of 23 with NO NOTICE whatsoever bc the worker that was originally going to was concussed in the last pre show match and she was insanely good at it.

Which would have also been about when he had this conversation with Danielson

It wouldn’t surprise me either if that show was what was the final pull to reach out.

 

[Chris]

I hope Danielson has now watched All About Eve and Sunset Blvd tho, they're amazing

 

[Kross Rhodes]

I hope Danielson has now watched All About Eve and Sunset Blvd tho, they're amazing

It’s crazy looking at that movie and seeing how well it translates over. The timeless character falling into their laps was like the greatest gift they could’ve ever hope for not only did he get Toni over but just the fact that they could borrow from these really great older movies

 

[Kross Rhodes]

Tony really did pull the “greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing you he never existed.”

Tony went out of his way to tell everyone on numerous occasions this movie is what we’re doing and the fan still didn’t see the turn coming.

 

[Hidden Blaze]

I’m interested in seeing where it goes. It’s definitely my favorite thing going on right now, and it’s making Toni a huge part of the show and a huge part of All In, so I’m just very invested.

 

[Canadian Dragon]

from same article, tk putting over RJ City huge

Tony Khan: RJ City Has Been My Right Hand In Mariah May's Storyline With Toni Storm, He's So Valuable | Fightful News

RJ City might not have a graphic, but he got some credit.

www.fightful.com

 

[Canadian Dragon]

Precisely what I’ve been saying. You can definitely tell this was all planned from before she even debuted on AEW television. It might be Tony’s best work and I’m so happy he didn’t deviate.

i would confidently say it's the best booked women's angle in AEW history from start to finish

 

[Canadian Dragon]

I would still put Omega Hangman saga as #1 but this is top 3 , it's up there with Punk MJF

 

[Hidden Blaze]

i would confidently say it's the best booked women's angle in AEW history from start to finish

Oh no doubt. Can’t even argue with that.

 

[Kross Rhodes]

from same article, tk putting over RJ City huge

Tony Khan: RJ City Has Been My Right Hand In Mariah May's Storyline With Toni Storm, He's So Valuable | Fightful News

RJ City might not have a graphic, but he got some credit.

www.fightful.com

I didn’t get his schtick for a long time and didn’t care for him until I watched some of his Hey EW interviews. He’s still a bit of a weirdo, but he doesn’t pull any punches. I’m actually surprised he hasn’t been cancelled for some of the stuff he does on there. He does some risqué jokes as well as some dad jokes and I appreciate his effort.