by Sometimes, the brightest lights don’t just shine upon the ring, they blaze in the spaces between, where joy meets grit and fire fuels the fight. Tay Melo is one of those lights. After nearly two years away from AEW to welcome her first child, this Brazilian-born judoka, street fight warrior, and international powerhouse has returned with sharpened strength and an unshakable spirit.
And she’s back with Brazilian fire.
With the reunited TayJay tag team of Tay Melo and Anna Jay lighting up our screens once more, now is the perfect moment to reflect on everything that has made Tay such an integral part of AEW’s beating heart.
From Judo Dreams to Wrestling Rings
Before AEW, before the street fights and title shots, Tay was a decorated judoka in Brazil, with a black belt in judo and a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Indeed, she began training for the 2016 Olympics, participating in trials for the Brazilian Summer Olympics team. With this competitive and decorated background, she brought a discipline and legitimacy to her wrestling that was impossible to ignore. She brings a strength, ferocity, and polish to her strikes with her technical transitions shaped by years of battle tested training. .
That foundation led her to making her televised wrestling debut in WWE during the Mae Young Classic in 2017, which later evolved into her joining the NXT roster under the name of Taynara Conti. This proved a crucial chapter for Tay, where she began to adapt her martial arts skillset into the dynamics of the wrestling ring, showcasing both her athleticism and technical prowess.
But it wasn’t until she arrived in AEW that Tay truly began to bloom. In 2020, she joined Anna Jay to form “TayJay” in the inaugural Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament: The Deadly Draw. At this time, TayJay became one of the first established Women’s Tag Teams in AEW, which would continue in various forms throughout the next several years. In 2021, Tay’s evolution and growth became undeniable, wrestling in 55 singles, tag, and trios matches, emerging victorious in 48 of them. She even set her sights on the AEW Women’s World Championship, culminating in a title match against then champion, Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.
Throughout this time, her polish in heavy hitting strikes, athletic intensity, willingness to throw down into hardcore elements, and her tenacity impressed fans, colleagues, and critics around the world. And she did it all with a smile, often dancing to the ring with an infectious charm, before unleashing hell onto her opponents with judo throws and punishing knee strikes.
In fact, by the end of 2021, she was named Most Improved Wrestler of the Year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
The Legacy of TayJay and a Street Fight for the Ages
When Tay Melo and Anna Jay first aligned, they became a powerhouse duo who embodied loyalty, ferocity, and fun. This was especially evident with their “secret handshake” before every match, linking hands with smiles and friendship to form a heart, before running to the ring to unleash hell. But it was the iconic 2021 New Year’s Smash Street Fight featuring TayJay vs. Penelope Ford & The Bunny that turned heads around the wrestling world. With tables, thumbtacks, broken glass, and a ferocious resilience, these women showcased a fiery spirit of violence that could never be broken. Tay even took a suplex into a barbed wire table, and yet still stood up smiling, bloodied, and ready to unleash even more chaos upon her opponents.
That match wasn’t just a moment for Tay, Anna, Penelope, and Allie, it became an iconic moment for women’s wrestling. A hard hitting war that didn’t apologize for its brutality, and instead reminded us that femininity and fearlessness coexist in beautiful ferocity.
Dancing, Chaos, and the JAS Era
As Tay’s journey unfolded, so too did her evolution, both as a performer and as a person in the spotlight. What began as a bright eyed babyface run soon gave way to something bolder, darker, more chaotic, and delightfully theatrical.
When Tay’s real-life relationship with Sammy Guevara became public, it wasn’t all sunshine and celebration. Fans who were still attached to Sammy’s previous relationship reacted with anger and confusion to the reveal of Sammy and Tay’s pairing. Once a beloved underdog, Tay suddenly found herself at the center of a very different kind of attention
But rather than shy away, Sammy and Tay did what great wrestlers do: they adapted. They didn’t just acknowledge the heat, they leaned into it, seeming to encourage the raucous chorus of boos at every turn. Aligning themselves with the heel stable “The Jericho Appreciation Society”, they embraced the role of AEW’s most unapologetically brash power couple. There was arrogance, sparkle, swagger, and camp. Whether strutting to the ring in Maleficent-inspired gear or stealing kisses in the middle of their matches, they leaned all the way in, transforming public scrutiny into captivating character work. That momentum carried across borders as well. At Triplemania XXX, Sammy and Tay captured the AAA Mixed Tag Team Championships, defending the titles in both AEW and AAA. Their reign added legitimacy to their pairing, blending lucha libre prestige with theatrical bravado, before they eventually vacated the titles in late 2022.
And yet, amid the theatrical chaos, there was always heart. That vulnerability returned in full force at Double or Nothing 2023, when Tay and Sammy stood before the world with a nervous, yet happy authenticity, to share that they were expecting their first child. In that instant, the crowd softened with cheers and celebration as Tay shifted once again, stepping out of the shadow with her next big evolution.
The Return of the Brazilian Fire
During her absence, Tay Melo underwent a metamorphosis of strength in motherhood. The bonding of love, the resilience of strength and femininity, and the fierce passion for doing what she loves – kicking ass, showing the world the strength of women, and representing Brazil with the ferocity of a warrior’s heart. Now, with the new addition of wanting to set an example of that ever burning strength and resilience for her young daughter. She put her head down, she trained hard, and she set her sights on a highly anticipated return to the ring.
In January 2025, she returned to the ring in Japan, debuting for Stardom at New Year Dream. Tagging with Mina Shirakawa against Athena and Thekla, Tay’s in-ring comeback was a dream fulfilled and a statement made: she was back. While she ultimately lost to the dominant power of Thekla and Athena, her return was about more than victory in the ring. Her victory came with the triumph of her own fortitude. Backstage, she was overcome with joyful tears, and a humility and pride. This was more than wrestling, this was about doing what she loved, in a country she’d always admired, as the woman and mother she’d grown to become.
On AEW’s Fyter Fest show in June 2025, she finally made her AEW return, running out to save her former tag team partner Anna Jay from a brutal beatdown at the hands of Penelope Ford and Megan Bayne. Older, wiser, sharper, and stronger, Tay Melo’s joyful smile now brought with it a sharper edge, ready to rain fire upon the women who’ve been running roughshod across the division, and across her friend and partner.
On the June 11 2025 episode of AEW’s Summer Blockbuster Dynamite special, TayJay were officially back, fighting against the dominant powerhouse team of Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford. With their shared history in the ring (Tay had previously defeated Megan Bayne in 2021 for NEW’s Six Flag’s show and of course, TayJay winning the iconic street fight against Penelope Ford and The Bunny), Tay Melo once again brought her punishing strikes, devastating maneuvers, and critical knee strikes back into the ring. The Brazilian fire burned in the heart of a warrior, as chants thunderously chanted “WELCOME BACK!” to the charming technician.
With her recent return, fans are once again feeling that electric pull Tay Melo brings. A little older, a little wiser, and now a mother—she’s carrying even more strength into the ring. Her reunion with Anna Jay isn’t just a throwback. It’s a continuation. And as the talk and hope of future Women’s Tag Team Titles ripples throughout the fanbase, it’s clear that the long-time team of TayJay could take dominant focus for a future tag division. A new chapter for a team forged in fire and friendship, now ready to reclaim their space and evolve.
Now, with TayJay back in action and the crowd once again cheering her name, Tay Melo is writing her next chapter, and with this Brazilian judoka turned global star, this street fight legend wrapped in glitter and grit, she inspires. She grows. She shines.
And now that she’s back in AEW? The glow has never been brighter, for Tay Melo, for TayJay, and for a future women’s Tag Team Division in AEW.
