Original plan revealed for AEW women’s Owen Hart tournament, All In title match
Toni Storm’s sudden departure from AEW this past March affected the promotion’s plans for the women’s division through August’s All In.
On Sunday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer talked about what the plan was for the women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament given the finals — Mercedes Mone vs. Maya World — are between two women who weren’t in it when it started.
Meltzer said the original plan was for Storm to win the tournament and then challenge AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla at Wembley Stadium. When Storm left unexpectedly for undisclosed reasons that were not injury related, that plan then shifted to Willow Nightingale.
However, Nightingale then injured her shoulder in May and had to withdraw from the tournament and also vacate her TBS title as a result. Meltzer wasn’t sure what the original plan for Mone was for All In as she returned for the tournament as a fill in for for Nightingale.
Thekla defending against Starlight Kid and Mone vs. World both take place this Sunday at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.