AEW's Tony Khan On Which Classic Hollywood Films Inspired 'Timeless' Toni Storm

Current AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm has become one of the most dominant females in company history over the past year, partially due to the fact that she discovered that she is in fact "Timeless." Since embracing her new persona as a Hollywood starlet from a bygone era that has somehow ended up in a 21st century wrestling company, Storm has become one of the most popular stars in all of AEW, and shows no signs of slowing down. Speaking with TV Insider, AEW President Tony Khan opened up about Storm's character and the source material that inspired it, even going as far to say that AEW has been changed forever because of these movies. 

"'All About Eve' and 'Sunset Boulevard' changed the course of AEW. Those are two of my favorites. If you've seen them, you know what I'm talking about," Khan said. "With 'Timeless' Toni Storm, I took a lot of influence from those when I wanted to make her a character and lead off with her. We have a great tie-in with Turner Classic Movies. One influence came at the start of the lockdown. There were a few days before we had to do our show during the lockdown, which I think was March 18, 2020. I had a lot of time to watch other shows and what others did during these situations."

"All About Eve" in particular has caught the attention of a number of AEW fans ever since Mariah May debuted for the company in late 2023 and aligned with Storm, with the plot of the movie being about an ambitious young fan of a famous actress slowly maneuvering herself into her idol's life, threatening her idol's career and personal relationships in the process.

Please credit "TV Insider" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.