10 Things AEW Fans Should Know About Tay Melo
Tay Melo is someone who has a whole load of potential on the AEW roster, showcasing the ability to be a very likable babyfaces and the most annoying of heels imaginable in the space of AEW run thus far. She is no doubt a future champion for sure.
With Tay Melo taking time off TV due to her pregnancy, it provides a great chance to explore some things that fans should know about her. From her time spent in the business before moving to AEW, to her life outside the ring, to her run in the company she’s in today, there are plenty of things that AEW fans should know about Melo.
10 Televised Debut In The Mae Young Classic
Although Tay Melo had been wrestling for a few months prior to her televised debut, she was put under a whole lot of pressure and spotlight on the WWE Network exclusive Mae Young Classic tournament.
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She competed in the first round in a losing effort to Lacey Evans. It would take Melo a few more months to find herself on NXT, though she was an infrequent part of the developmental brand for the next couple of years.
9 First Brazilian Female To Compete At WrestleMania
Whilst Tay Melo didn’t compete on the main card of WrestleMania, she is still the first ever female Brazilian to compete on the night of a WrestleMania when she wrestled on the pre-show.
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She was a part of the women’s battle royal on the show, though he was in the first bunch of superstars eliminated from the match. The bout was eventually won by Naomi.
8 WWE Tried To Prevent Her Going To AEW
As noted, Tay Melo wasn’t overly used on NXT, and this led to some frustration being in the promotion. She requested her release from WWE, but her wishes were denied. In an interview on the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Melo revealed this was due to fear of her going to AEW.
“I was so unhappy there that I didn’t have any plans, I was just like, I want to get out of here. I’m not happy, and I never thought about, oh, what am I gonna do if they give me my release? I never thought about it. I was like, I just need to be done with them, and of course, they said no a couple times. We were having a bunch of meetings. I was like, nope, I’m just done. Please let me go. So at the last one, they told me, ‘No, you’re not going,’ and they mentioned AEW.” (H/T Wrestling Inc)
7 Made AEW Debut Alongside Anna Jay
Much of Tay Melo’s run in AEW has been alongside her tag team partner and best friend Anna Jay. Some may be unaware that a tag team match with Jay is where she made her AEW debut.
She competed in the often overlooked and forgotten Deadly Draw Women’s Tag Team Tournament. The team of TayJay lost in the semi finals to winners Diamanté and Ivelisse.
6 Former Champion In AAA
Tay Melo hasn’t had too much championship success thus far, but her one piece of gold came in the form of the AAA Mixed Tag Team Titles which she won alongside Sammy Guevara, though they eventually vacated the belts. Melo has her eyes on more gold though, noting on Sammy Guevara’s vlog;
“I wanna get a title. All the belts, I’m not kidding. I’m gonna go for it all. Of course, I want the world title. But I’m up to do the TBS [Title] too.” (H/T Fightful)
5 Most Improved Award
Tay Melo perhaps didn’t get a proper shot on NXT programming due a lack of improvement, but it is clear to see that from day one of her time in AEW to present day, she has become a polished professional wrestler.
In fact, these improvements haven’t gone unnoticed, as she won the Wrestling Observer’s Most Improved award in 2021 following a year that saw her challenge for the AEW Women’s World Title on PPV.
4 Legit Black Belt
When Tay Melo wrestled in WWE she donned a black belt as part of her entrance gear, and this stems from her being a legit black belt in judo.
In fact, in her earlier years she even competed in trials to be a part of the 2016 Brazilian Olympics team but missed out. From there, she ventured into the world of professional wrestling.
3 Back Issues
Tay Melo may only be young, still in her 20s, but she is already suffering from the wear and tear of the professional wrestling industry, having struggled with back protrusion for several years - she would even miss some time from AEW due to this. She spoke on Elite POV about competing with these issues.
“I have a protrusion on my back, so it’s something that I’ve been dealing with for more than 10 years by now. I know how to go about it. Before the match (a Street Fight on Rampage, I started feeling it a little bit, and the doctors in AEW, they’re super good.” (H/T Fightful)
2 Married To Sammy Guevara
If you’ve been keeping up with AEW programming over the last few years, you’d have seen the developing relationship of Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo - and this is one which is both an on-screen and real life partnership.
The AEW pair are now married, and would even get the chance to announce their pregnancy on AEW programming too - and this would even spark the beginning of Guevara’s gradual babyface turn.
1 Ring Name Change
When Tay Melo arrived in AEW, it was under the name of “Tay Conti”. However, following her marriage with Sammy Guevara, her ring name changed to Tay Melo.
This is due to Conti being the name of her previous husband, to whom she is now divorced. It wasn’t acknowledged on-screen. She explained this when speaking to Denise Salciedo. “Short term I just changed my last, which is like a restart for me. Everybody knows that was my ex’s last name.” (H/T WrestleTalk)
