While most of the attention from last night’s “AEW Dynamite” focused on how the show ended, plenty was going on surrounding “Timeless” Toni Storm. The AEW Women’s World Champion came to the aid of her protege, Mariah May after she was attacked by Anna Jay following the latter’s loss to Mina Shirakawa, only for Serena Deeb to emerge in the aftermath and stake her claim for a shot at Storm’s championship somewhere down the road by posing with Storm’s title belt, which she dropped while attempting to save May.

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As has become the norm for her these days, Storm found time to address all the chaos in a social media exclusive posted hours after “Dynamite” went off the air. Once more calling May to her bosom, Storm focused her attention on Deeb first, expressing hope that Deeb took plenty of photos while she was posing with Storm’s title so that she could sell them “at the next dilapidated indie event that you’re at.” Storm further said Deeb wasn’t in her league, and that Deeb could “touch her title, but not her child.”

Quickly shifting gears, Storm went after Jay, saying that the former Dark Order and Jericho Appreciation Society member should’ve kept her nose and “that rather large bottom out of my business.” She further vowed that if Jay touched a hair on May’s head at “Collision” this Saturday, where Storm and Jay will meet one-on-one, Storm would clap Jay’s cheeks “all the way back to Georgia.” The AEW Women’s World Champion wrapped things up by declaring she was on the “run of a lifetime,” and her life “was far from over,” before she and May went into Storm’s now-famous catchphrase.

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EXCLUSIVE: #AEW Women’s World Champion ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm sends a firm message to Serena Deeb and Anna Jay! #AEWDynamite#ToniStorm | @MariahMayx pic.twitter.com/4jutIQ2hsi

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 25, 2024

People seem to be on the fence about media scrums and pressers in wrestling. Some feel they’re great for seeing more of the real personalities behind the spectacle. Others brush them off as platforms for journalists to ask provocative questions for an easy soundbite. One thing is clear, though: they certainly produce lots of headlines. “Brawl Out” has been talked to death, but more recently, comments made by Triple H at a post-WrestleMania presser prompted a rather vitriolic response from Will Ospreay on “AEW Dynamite.” Tommy Dreamer thinks wrestling is seeing an uptick in performers taking shots at each other, due in part from these media pressers, and he elaborated on “Busted Open Radio.”

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“I don’t know what purpose it serves,” Dreamer said. “I thought the media thing at WrestleMania served a purpose. That’s when the shove happened, all that stuff. I thought that was cool, the slap. But then it goes back to media … What great thing has happened from any media thing, except getting knowledge that really has just been focused on the negative?” To Dreamer’s point, Bully Ray said that in a worked world of sports entertainment, the press conference opens you up to a potential disaster of a CM Punk-type situation. Dreamer said that there are other, more effective ways to give fans and media insider access beyond a press conference.

“TNA [Rebellion], four wrestlers legit got hurt,” Dreamer said. “And I saw that fans were concerned about them. You know why? Because the locker [room] was concerned about them. I said, why don’t we go kinda like ‘Real Sports’ and give an injury report on these people, because people are concerned about people that they actually care about. And we put it out on social, and it worked. But it wasn’t a press conference.”

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Bryan Danielson and Swerve Strickland are two of the performers at the top of the hierarchy in AEW. Danielson, currently in his last year as a full-time professional wrestler, is coming off a loss to Will Ospreay while Swerve Strickland just captured the AEW World Championship by defeating Samoa Joe. Danielson has pledged to continue wrestling beyond 2024, but his schedule will be greatly reduced after this year, possibly making it the last opportunity for Danielson to get a run with the AEW World Championship.

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During an interview with “Going Ringside” on News4JAX, Strickland addressed the potential of a match against the former WWE Champion. While the pressure of such a match would be incredibly high, Strickland seemed excited at the prospect.

“Best of our era,” Strickland said of Danielson. “Hopefully he’s doing okay, first of all. When the time is right for him to come back, hopefully — I have a score to settle with him, because we faced off on ‘Dynamite’ and I lost in that match. He owes me.”

Strickland then confirmed that he is ready to face any challenger that steps up for a shot at the AEW World Championship. That includes Danielson’s Blackpool Combat Club ally Claudio Castagnoli as well as Strickland’s rivals Darby Allin and “Hangman” Adam Page.

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Though Danielson is reportedly just fine, Sunday’s inaugural AEW Dynasty pay-per-view saw the 42-year-old put through the ringer in a match against Will Ospreay, with Danielson heavily selling injuries from the bout. Based on Strickland’s comment on the performer, Danielson will likely be taking a short time off before returning to AEW. It remains to be seen if Danielson will enter the world title picture before taking a step back from wrestling later this year.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit News4JAX with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

AEW President Tony Khan got physical in-ring for the first time during last night’s “AEW Dynamite,” where he was attacked by Jack Perry and eventually The Young Bucks. The move was instantly compared to Vince McMahon’s days of getting involved in storylines, and according to a report, Khan seems to be taking it seriously.

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Fightful Select reports that its sources in AEW say Khan didn’t simply sell the attacks on-camera, but has since been selling his resulting storyline injury as well. The upcoming Parking Lot Brawl between Trent Barretta and Chuck Taylor was filmed early on Thursday, and their sources say Khan was on set during the match, seen wearing a neck brace. Some have also questioned if Khan will be seen with the brace in the coming days during the NFL Draft, but for now it’s unknown if he will do so.

Khan’s involvement in the angle seems to have positioned Perry as an even bigger heel than he was before his suspension. Interestingly, while his heel turn was originally welcomed, he still received a significant amount of criticism. Since his return to wrestling and embracing his role in CM Punk’s AEW departure, it seems like fans are now warming up to him as a believable villain, especially after last night. Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer also recently gave their takes on the heel version of The Elite, noting how Perry has sold lots of merch lately. However, both the veterans criticized Perry for directly referencing Punk, considering that he’s no longer signed to AEW. Bully also questioned Perry’s heel turn, and suggested that he should’ve actually been a babyface since Punk was the one who got physical first.

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April 2024 has been a busy month for Mark Briscoe. He began the month by defeating Eddie Kingston at ROH Supercard of Honor to become the new ROH World Champion, winning the title exactly 11 years after his late brother Jay Briscoe won his first ROH World Championship. A few days after losing a trios match at AEW Dynasty against the House of Black, Briscoe announced that his family has just gotten a little bit bigger.

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Briscoe took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to announce the birth of his son, Matthew Jamin Pugh.

Introducing…

MATTHEW JAMIN PUGH !!!!#GodIsGood pic.twitter.com/Ezogsr5wk2

— Mark Briscoe (@SussexCoChicken) April 24, 2024

Matthew’s middle name is seemingly in honor of Jay, whose legal given name is Jamin; Jamin Pugh died in January 2023 after being involved in a car accident. Matthew, as Mark’s fifth son, is his eighth child overall. Briscoe admitted in an interview in November 2023 that he found out his wife was pregnant shortly after taking some time away from the ring to heal a knee injury, jokingly saying that he doesn’t use his free time very well.

Briscoe returned to action to compete in the inaugural Continental Classic tournament at the end of 2023, where he finished fifth in the Gold League after scoring three points. He then went on to help FTR and Daniel Garcia in their feud against the House of Black, who then proceeded to set their sights on the current ROH World Champion on a number of episodes of “AEW Collision.”

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