Tay Melo

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Tay Melo
Melo in March 2024
Birth nameTaynara Melo de Carvalho
Born (1995-06-09) June 9, 1995 (age 29)[1]
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Spouse(s)
  • Jorge Conti
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2017; div. 2021)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 2022)​
Children1
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Tay Conti[2]
Tay Melo[2]
Taynara Conti[3]
Taynara Melo
Billed height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)[4]
Billed fromRio de Janeiro, Brazil[3]
Trained byDustin Rhodes
WWE Performance Center[5]
DebutApril 1, 2017 (2017-04-01)[6]

Taynara Melo Guevara (née de Carvalho and formerly Conti; born June 9, 1995) is a Brazilian professional wrestler and judoka. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she performs under the ring name Tay Melo (/ˈtaɪ/) and was a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society. She also appears in AEW's Mexican partner promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), where she is a former AAA World Mixed Tag Team Champion with real life husband Sammy Guevara.

Prior to joining AEW, Melo performed for WWE on the NXT brand as Taynara Conti from 2017 to 2020.

Early life and judo

Taynara Melo de Carvalho was born on June 9, 1995, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She has a brother and two sisters, one of whom is adopted. Melo grew up in Rio's notorious poverty-stricken and crime-infested favelas. She holds a black belt in judo and a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.[5] Melo briefly went to law school in Brazil[7] and participated in trials for the Brazilian Olympic team at the 2016 Summer Olympics prior to joining WWE.[3]

Melo began her athletic career in artistic gymnastics in CR Vasco da Gama, but soon migrated to martial arts. She initially fought for the judo team Brasil vale ouro ("Brazil is worth gold") and later joined Brazilian sports and education NGO Instituto Reação, led by Olympic judoka Flávio Canto. Melo was a regional champion and four-time state champion. In addition, she was a four-time Brazilian runner up. She joined the Brazilian team and participated in the European circuit in Portugal and Germany.[8]

Professional wrestling career

WWE (2016–2020)

Conti at a live event in 2020

In October 2016, Melo was announced as having signed with WWE and reported to the WWE Performance Center.[5] She made her professional wrestling debut as Taynara Conti at WrestleMania Axxess in Orlando, Florida on April 1, 2017, competing against Sarah Bridges in a losing effort.[9] She took part in the inaugural Mae Young Classic, during which she lost to Lacey Evans in the first round of the tournament.[10]

Conti appeared on television on the October 11 episode of NXT, interfering in a triple threat match between Nikki Cross, Peyton Royce, and Liv Morgan on behalf of The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O'Reilly) to prevent Cross from winning the match.[11][12] This led to a match between Conti and Cross on the November 1 episode of NXT, where Conti lost.[13] On April 8, 2018, Conti performed during the pre-show of WrestleMania 34, competing in the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal, becoming the first female Brazilian to compete on the evening of WrestleMania.[14] Later in the year, Conti qualified for the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament after she defeated Vanessa Borne.[15] She defeated Jessie Elaban in the first round but lost to Lacey Lane in the second round.[16][17]

On April 20, 2020, Conti was released from her WWE contract as a result of budget cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18] Like all other talent released, she remained under the 90-day no compete clause, which expired on July 23, 2020. Conti later revealed in an interview that she had been unhappy for months at WWE and wanted to be released, but the company initially would not grant her a release out of fear she would go to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).[19]

All Elite Wrestling (2020–present)

On August 4, 2020, Melo appeared on AEW as Tay Conti, participating in the AEW Women's Tag Team Cup Tournament: The Deadly Draw and teaming with Anna Jay. The team, known officially as TayJay, defeated Nyla Rose and Ariane Andrew in the quarterfinals but lost to Ivelisse and Diamante during the semi-finals.[20][21] On the August 26 episode of Dynamite, she received a contract from the stable The Dark Order to join them.[22] On September 9, AEW announced that Conti had signed with the company.[2]

On the January 13, 2021, episode of Dynamite, Conti competed for the NWA World Women's Championship for the first time, and was defeated by Serena Deeb.[23] In the following weeks, Conti earned a title match for the AEW Women's World Championship, but she was not successful in beating the champion, Hikaru Shida, on the April 21 episode of Dynamite.[24] In September, Conti and Anna Jay began a feud with Penelope Ford and The Bunny in a series of singles and tag matches on Dynamite and Rampage. On November 13, Conti fought again for the AEW Women's World Championship, this time facing defending champion Britt Baker at Full Gear but came up unsuccessful.[25] The TayJay/Bunny & Ford feud came to a head when the team of Jay and Conti defeated the team of The Bunny and Ford in a street fight on December 31 on Rampage.[26]

On March 6, 2022, at Revolution, Conti faced Jade Cargill for the AEW TBS Championship in a losing effort.[27] After months of feuding, on May 29 at Double or Nothing Conti teamed up with Sammy Guevara and Frankie Kazarian in a trios mixed tag team match facing American Top Team's Ethan Page, Paige VanZant and Scorpio Sky, which Conti's team lost.[28] On June 15, at Road Rager, Conti along with Guevara, joined the Jericho Appreciation Society, turning heel.[29] On August 12 on Rampage Quake by the Lake under the new ring name Tay Melo, teamed up with Guevara defending the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship against Dante Martin and Skye Blue which they successfully retained.[30]

Melo and Guevara then started a feud with Ruby Soho and Ortiz, trading wins during August before defeating them at All Out due to interference from Anna Jay.[citation needed] The feud between Melo and Soho resumed on the November 30 episode of Dynamite, leading to a match at Winter Is Coming where Soho defeated Melo.[citation needed] The feud continued with Melo and Jay defeating Soho and Willow Nightingale on the December 28 episode of Dynamite; Soho and Nightingale however defeated Melo and Jay on the January 11, 2023, episode of Rampage in a street fight.[citation needed]

Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (2022)

On April 30, 2022, Conti made her AAA debut teaming with Sammy Guevara to defeat Los Vipers, Maravilla and Látigo, and Sexy Star II and Komander to win the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship at Triplemanía XXX. For most of the match, La Parka Negra would wrestle in Guevara's place.[31]

Other media

Melo appears as a main cast member for AEW All Access.[32]

Personal life

In 2017, Melo married fellow judoka Jorge Conti. In November 2021, Melo revealed that she was no longer married, and that the couple had been separated "for a long time".[33][34][better source needed]

Melo had been in a relationship with fellow professional wrestler Sammy Guevara since January 2022.[35] The couple got engaged in June in Paris[36][37] and were wed on August 7, 2022, in Orlando.[38] In May 2023, at Double or Nothing, Melo and Guevara revealed they are expecting their first child, and confirmed it on their social media accounts.[39][better source needed]

On November 28, 2023, Melo gave birth to a daughter.[40][41]

She is a fan of MMA (particularly the UFC and the MMA fighters Amanda Nunes and Charles Oliveira), often comments on the events and fights of these events on her social media, in addition to having declared that she is open to a challenge of fighting MMA in the future and that she has visited a UFC Gym several times.[citation needed]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ @TayConti_ (June 9, 2020). "I'm 25... God is amazing!!!" (Tweet). Retrieved April 2, 2021 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b c Satin, Ryan (September 9, 2020). "AEW Confirms Tay Conti Is Now "All Elite"". Pro Wrestling Sheet. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Taynara Conti". WWE. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  4. ^ "Taynara Conti". WWE. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "WWE Performance Center welcomes new class of recruits". WWE. October 25, 2016. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  6. ^ "Taynara Conti". Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  7. ^ "Tacos with Tay Conti". YouTube. November 16, 2021. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  8. ^ "Ex-atleta da seleção brasileira troca judô pela luta-livre e vira estrela nos EUA". Rede Globo. November 9, 2017. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  9. ^ "Atualizado (02/04): Resultados dos combates realizados na WrestleMania Axxess". Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  10. ^ Molina, Josh (August 31, 2017). "WWE Mae Young Classic episode four results: Kairi Sane debuts". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  11. ^ Trionfo, Richard (October 11, 2017). "WWE NXT REPORT: GARGANO VERSUS ALMAS, THE NEXT QUALIFIER FOR THE WOMEN'S TITLE MATCH, BURCH VERSUS SULLIVAN, DREAM VERSUS RUSH, AND MORE". PWInsider. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  12. ^ Trionfo, Richard (October 25, 2017). "WWE NXT REPORT: BATTLE ROYAL, IS THE VELVETEEN DREAM A NIGHTMARE FOR ALEISTER BLACK?, ALMAS VERSUS STRONG, LORCAN AND BURCH TEAM UP, AND MORE". PWInsider. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  13. ^ Johnson, Mike (November 1, 2017). "WWE NXT SPOILERS FOR TONIGHT". PWInsider. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  14. ^ Carapola, Stuart (April 8, 2018). "COMPLETE WRESTLEMANIA 34 KICKOFF SHOW COVERAGE". PWInsider. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
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  16. ^ Trionfo, Richard (September 26, 2018). "WWE MAE YOUNG CLASSIC REPORT: THE SECOND ROUND IS SET: IO SHIRAI, RACHEL EVERS, HIROYO MATSUMOTO, NICOLE MATTHEWS, AND MORE". PWInsider. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  17. ^ Trionfo, Richard (October 2018). "WWE MAE YOUNG CLASSIC REPORT: SATOMURA VERSUS MARTINEZ, TONI STORM, AND MORE AS THE SECOND ROUND STARTS". PWInsider. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  18. ^ Johnson, Mike (April 17, 2020). "WWE RELEASES CONTINUE (UPDATED AGAIN)". PWInsider. Archived from the original on April 25, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  19. ^ ""No, you're not gonna go to AEW" – Tay Conti says WWE denied her release to prevent her from joining AEW". The SportsRush. May 23, 2021. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  20. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (August 3, 2020). "AEW Women's Tag Team Cup Tournament: Deadly Draw Results (8/3): Veda, Shaul Guerrero, Madusa Appear". Fightful. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  21. ^ Powell, Jason (August 17, 2020). "8/17 AEW Deadly Draw tournament results: Powell's live review of Diamante and Ivelisse vs. Tay Conti and Anna Jay, and Brandi Rhodes and Allie vs. Big Swole and Lil' Swole in semifinal tournament matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  22. ^ Powell, Jason (August 27, 2020). "8/27 AEW Dynamite results: Powell's live review of FTR vs. Best Friends vs. The Young Bucks vs. Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall in a gauntlet match for a shot at the AEW Tag Titles, Jon Moxley vs. MJF contract signing for the AEW Championship match at All Out, Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara in a tables match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  23. ^ "AEW Dynamite Results for January 13, 2021". All Elite Wrestling. January 14, 2021. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  24. ^ Powell, Jason (April 21, 2021). "4/21 AEW Dynamite results: Powell's live review of Darby Allin vs. Jungle Boy for the TNT Championship, Hikaru Shida vs. Tay Conti for the AEW Women's Championship, Christian Cage vs. Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricky Starks vs. Hangman Page, Trent vs. Penta El Zero Miedo, Billy Gunn vs. QT Marshall". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  25. ^ "AEW Full Gear 2021 Results". All Elite Wrestling. November 14, 2021. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
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  31. ^ a b Knipper, Justin (April 30, 2022). "AAA Triplemania XXX Monterrey live results: Vikingo & Fenix vs. Young Bucks Saturday's PPV will also feature Sammy Guevara, Andrade and Deonna Purrazzo". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on May 1, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  32. ^ Chase, Stephanie (March 4, 2023). "AEW shares first trailer for unscripted series All Access". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  33. ^ "AEW Star Tay Conti Reveals Separation from Husband". Wrestling News Source. November 23, 2021. Archived from the original on January 8, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  34. ^ "AEW Star Reveals Separation From Husband". Wrestling Inc. November 23, 2021. Archived from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  35. ^ Beltrán, William (January 1, 2022). "Tay Conti y Sammy Guevara son novios". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  36. ^ "AEW's Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti Get Engaged". WWE. June 5, 2022. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  37. ^ Chiari, Mike. "AEW Stars Sammy Guevara, Tay Conti Get Engaged to Be Married at Eiffel Tower in Paris". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  38. ^ "Tay Conti And Sammy Guevara Get Married". fightful.com. August 8, 2022. Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  39. ^ "Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo Expecting Their First Child". Wrestling Inc.com. May 29, 2023. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  40. ^ "Photo: AEW Stars Sammy Guevara And Tay Melo Welcome First Child". Wrestling Inc.com. November 29, 2023. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  41. ^ Dasappan, Jayakrishna (December 26, 2023). "Tay Melo Says Wrestling Changed Her Life Following Her Mom's Reaction to Disney World". Wrestlezone. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  42. ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (March 23, 2022). "Complete List Of 2022 AEW Award Winners". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  43. ^ @Inside_TheRopes (January 22, 2022). "The winner of the Inside The Ropes Magazine 2021 Most Improved Award is...TAY CONTI (@TayConti_ / @AEW)See the…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  44. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Women's 150 2021 List in Full". Wrestling Travel. October 28, 2021. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  45. ^ Meltzer, Dave (February 18, 2022). "February 21, 2022 Observer Newsletter: 2021 Awards issue, Cody and Brandi Rhodes leave AEW". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
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