After nearly six years, it looks like Tay Melo’s time with AEW is over. Earlier on Wednesday, A fighter reported that Melo had been removed from AEW’s roster page on the promotion’s website. While there has been no official confirmation from either Melo or AEW, this strongly suggests that Melo is no longer involved with the promotion and is now officially free and clear to sign with any other promotion.
The news will not come as a shock to anyone Melo has reportedly asked to be released from AEW earlier in the summer. Soon during a press conference, AEW owner Tony Khan confirmed that Melo has asked to be released after she and Anna Jey lost the AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship match to Divine Dominion. According to Khan, Melo had announced that he wanted to retire from wrestling. though Melo later told a fan that he wasn’t retired. Regardless, Khan announced his intention to release Melo, which apparently happened a few months later.
A black belt in Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Melo began his wrestling career with the WWE under the name Tey Conti in NXT. He would remain with WWE for four years before being released in early 2020 amid a wave of layoffs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. he began working with AEW in August and was officially announced as signed in September.
Although he would never win a championship during his AEW tenure, Melo received praise for his improvement during his WWE career and became a household name. her AEW Women’s World Championship challenge against Hikaru Shidaand his tag team with Jay, known as TJ. During his time in AEW, he would face fellow wrestler Sammy Guevara; they will marry in August 2022, and Melo will give birth to their daughter, Luna, in November 2023.