Guevara made his professional wrestling debut in 2010 - after being trained byBooker T - beginning his career in Booker'sReality of Wrestling promotion. Throughout the 2010s, he worked for numerous U.S. companies, most notablyImpact Wrestling. He has also wrestled inJapan withDDT Pro Wrestling. Guevara has been with AEW since the promotion's founding in 2019, featured early on as a member ofChris Jericho's first stable,The Inner Circle.
Sammy Guevara was born on July 28, 1993, in Houston, Texas, to a Cuban father and an American mother. He grew up in the nearby suburb ofKaty, Texas, and his parents divorced when Sammy was young. Guevara became a fan of wrestling in 2004 when he went to aWWE Smackdown show in Houston where he sawBooker T andRey Mysterio wrestle. He later decided he wanted to become a professional wrestler, so he went to Booker T'sReality of Wrestling wrestling school in Houston in 2010.[citation needed]
On June 22, 2020, Guevara was suspended by AEW after it was revealed that he made an inappropriate joke about wanting to "go rape"WWE wrestlerSasha Banks during a podcast in January 2016. He later made a YouTube video apologizing for the remarks and taking accountability for what he said. Later that day, Banks announced that she and Guevara were in contact with each other, that he had apologized to her, and that they had engaged in an "open discussion" to help him understand the severity of his comments.[38] The conditions of his suspension are that he was required to attend sensitivity training, while his weekly pay was donated to the Women's Center ofJacksonville during the course of his suspension.[39] Guevara returned on the July 22 episode ofDynamite, disguised as Serpentico, as he interfered to help Jericho and Hager defeatJungle Boy andLuchasaurus in a tag team match.[40][41][42]
Guevara in 2022
After Guevara's return, he would resume his feud withMatt Hardy, however it was later paused due to Hardy sustaining an injury during aBroken Rules match atAll Out.[43] Their feud ended with a "The Elite Deletion" match atFull Gear, where Hardy won.[44] AtFull Gear,MJF andWardlow became Guevara's new teammates in The Inner Circle after MJF defeated Jericho. On the December 9th Dynamite, Chris Jericho held an ultimatum for the Inner Circle, with many members showing frustrations with MJF. Sammy Guevara would declare that if one more thing happened with MJF, then he would quit the Inner Circle. The two would then shake hands.
On the February 10, 2021, edition ofAEW Dynamite, following weeks of growing tension between the two, Guevara attacked MJF following a backstage confrontation which gave MJF akayfabe rib injury. Later on that night, Guevara announced his departure from The Inner Circle.[45] This was set to leave him appearing onImpact Wrestling,[46] but both parties couldn't come to an agreement about Guevara's storylines.[47] A month later on the March 10 episode ofDynamite, Guevara would make a return to AEW. He would reveal that he had set up a camera in The Inner Circle's locker room, which recorded MJF convincing Jake Hager, Santana, and Ortiz to turn on Chris Jericho. When it looked as though the three were about to attack Guevara and Jericho, they instead turned to MJF. Jericho would then fire MJF on the spot. However, MJF would state that he had already begun creating his own group, which led toShawn Spears,Wardlow,FTR, andTully Blanchard coming out and attacking The Inner Circle.[48] On the March 31 episode ofDynamite, Guevara, along with all of the other Inner Circle members, would return yet again and attack the group now known asThe Pinnacle. They would kick The Pinnacle out of their locker room, as they had taken over it during the Inner Circle's absence.[49]
Two weeks later on April 7, Chris Jericho (along with the rest of the members of the Inner Circle) would challenge The Pinnacle to aBlood and Guts match.[50] AtAEW Blood and Guts, The Pinnacle would defeat The Inner Circle, after Guevara forfeited the match to save Chris Jericho from being pushed off the top of the cage by MJF. However, MJF would still push Jericho off the cage onto the ramp. On the next episode of Dynamite, The Inner Circle would interrupt The Pinnacle's celebration by coming out in a "Bubbly Truck" (reminiscent of whenKurt Angle sprayedThe Alliance with milk in a truck.) The Inner Circle would do the same thing to The Pinnacle, spraying them with bubbly and ruining their celebration. However, MJF would challenge The Inner Circle to aStadium Stampede match atDouble or Nothing, with the stipulation being that if The Inner Circle lost, they had to disband. Chris Jericho would accept the match, with Guevara primarily wrestling Shawn Spears. At Double or Nothing, The Inner Circle would win after Guevara hit a 630 senton on Spears in the ring after an extensive backstage brawl between the two, keeping the group alive. On the episode following the pay-per-view, The Inner Circle would declare a "summer of violence" for the Pinnacle. On the June 30th edition of AEW Dynamite, Sammy Guevara would lose to MJF after Spears hit him with a chair to the head.[51]
On September 29, Guevara won theAEW TNT Championship atDynamite by defeatingMiro.[52] The next week, Guevara made his first successful defense against a debutingBobby Fish.[53] On December 25, at the specialHoliday Bash episode ofRampage, Guevara lost the title toCody Rhodes, ending his reign at 87 days.[54] A TNT Championship rematch between Rhodes and Guevara was scheduled to take place atBattle of the Belts I on January 8, 2022. However, Rhodes was forced to withdraw after being exposed toCOVID-19. An interim TNT title was created as a result, with a match between Guevara and Cody's brother,Dustin, being scheduled at Battle of the Belts instead. Guevara would go on to win the match and become the interim TNT champion.[55] On January 26 atAEW Beach Break, Guevara defeated Cody Rhodes in a ladder match to unify the belts, becoming the undisputed (and two-time) TNT Champion.[56] The match wasawarded 5 stars by professional wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, giving Guevara his first 5-star match.[57] On the February 9, 2022, episode ofAEW Dynamite, the Inner Circle had a team meeting that ended with Sammy Guevara throwing his vest and walking out.[58] AtRevolution 2022, Guevara would win aTornado tag team match with Allin andSting overAndrade El Idolo, Matt Hardy, andIsiah Kassidy.
On the March 9, 2022, episodeDynamite, Guevara would lose the TNT Championship toScorpio Sky. Sammy would continue his feud with Scorpio Sky but with the inclusion of his girlfriendTay Conti due to the official signing ofPaige VanZant in AEW. AtBattle of the Belts II, Sammy Guevara successfully ended Scorpio Sky's undefeated streak with a low blow, winning his record-tying 3rd TNT Championship.[59] Sammy dropped the title back to Scorpio Sky on the April 27 episode ofDynamite in a ladder match, thus ending his reign at 12 days, which is the shortest reign in the title's history. Guevara also suffered injuries from the ladder match to his shoulder, as a result of a Twisting Splash from the top of a ladder.[60] AtDouble or Nothing on May 29, 2022, Sky, VanZant andEthan Page defeated Guevara,Frankie Kazarian andTay Conti in a six-person tag team match, with Guevara and Kazarian losing the right to further challenge Sky for the TNT Championship as a result.[61][62]
After this, Guevara began a feud with Kingston. The two were scheduled to face in a match at theAll Out, but the match was cancelled after Kingston was suspended by AEW for getting into alegitimate backstage dispute with Guevara.[65] Instead, Guevara and Melo successfully defended the AAA Mixed Tag Team Championship against Ortiz andRuby Soho.[66] On November 19 atFull Gear, Guevara was unsuccessful at winning theROH World Championship in afour-way match, which includedBryan Danielson,Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Jericho, who won the match.[67]
In March 2023, Guevara competed in the Face of the Revolution ladder match, which was won byPowerhouse Hobbs. On the April 19, episode ofDynamite, Guevara defeated"Jungle Boy" Jack Perry bycountout with assistance from MJF in the semi-final of the Four Pillars Tournament.[68] The following week in the final, Guevara would again win with assistance from MJF, this time defeatingDarby Allin via disqualification, however, Tony Khan stated that the singles match between MJF and Guevara at Double or Nothing would only go ahead if they could beat Perry and Darby in a tag team match; if Perry and Allin won, the World Championship match at Double or Nothing would be a four-way match between MJF, Guevara, Perry, and Allin.[69] On the May 3 episode, Perry and Allin won.[70] On May 28 at the event, Guevara was unsuccessful at winning the AEW World Championship, which was won by MJF.[71] On June 25 atForbidden Door, Guevara, Jericho and Minoru Suzuki, under the sub-unit of "Le Suzuki Gods", facing Darby Allin,Sting andTetsuya Naito in a losing effort.[72]
On the August 9, episode ofDynamite, Guevara along with the rest of the Jericho Appreciation Society held a mandatory meeting after Jericho began interacting withDon Callis, it led to each member walk out on Jericho with Guevara being open to returning if Jericho fixes the situation.
On August 27 atAll In, Guevara accompanied Chris Jericho to the ring in his match withWill Ospreay, Jericho ended up losing the match and walking away from Guevara after the match.[73] AtGrand Slam, Guevara was defeated by Jericho. Guevara, however turned heel and attacked Jericho with alow blow after the match, similarly, to what Jericho did after hisWrestleMania XIX match againstShawn Michaels. Guevara would then leave withDon Callis, joining his family.[74] On October 1 atWrestleDream, Guevara along with Ospreay andKonosuke Takeshita defeated Jericho andThe Golden Elite (Kenny Omega andKota Ibushi) in a six-man tag team match, with Guevara pinning Jericho with the help of Callis.[75]
On the December 27 episode of DynamiteNew Years Smash, Guevara returned to AEW as a face by confronting The Don Callis Family, before getting attacked by them. He would be saved by Jericho along withSting andDarby Allin then came out to help Guevara and Jericho clear the ring. Later, aneight-man tag team match pitting the team of Jericho, Guevara, Sting, and Allin against the team ofRicky Starks,Big Bill,Powerhouse Hobbs, andKonosuke Takeshita was scheduled forWorlds End.[76] At the event, Guevara, Jericho, Sting, and Allin defeated Starks, Bill, Hobbs and Takeshita.[77] On the February 14th episode of Rampage, Guevara facedJeff Hardy in a No Disqualification match, during the bout Hardy sustained a broken nose but managed to finish the contest. Guevara was suspended days later for not following concussion protocol during the match.[78][79]
On August 29, Guevara and Rhodes were forced to vacate the ROH World Tag Team Championships due to Rhodes suffering an injury, ending their reign at 378 days. On the same day atDeath Before Dishonor, Guevara teamed with Marshall and Ross Von Erich in a losing effort against Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor,Carlie Bravo, andCapt. Shawn Dean) for the vacant ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championships. Later in the night, Guevara teamed withRush to defeatThe Outrunners (Turbo Floyd andTruth Magnum) to win the vacant ROH World Tag Team Championships. After the match, Guevara attacked Marshall and Ross Von Erich, turning heel and joiningLa Facción Ingobernable.[87]
On April 30, 2022, Guevara returned to AAA teaming withTay Conti to defeatLos Vipers,Maravilla and Látigo, and Sexy Star II andKomander to win the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship atTriplemanía XXX. For most of the match,La Parka Negra would wrestle in Guevara's place.[88]
Since November 2021, Guevara has been in a relationship with fellow professional wrestler Taynara Melo, better known by her ring nameTay Melo.[89] In June 2022, Guevara announced his engagement to Melo.[90] On August 6, 2022, Guevara and Melo held their wedding ceremony inOrlando.[91]
On May 28, 2023, right before Guevara's match at AEW'sDouble or Nothing 2023, he and Melo announced they were expecting their first child.[92]
On November 28, 2023, Guevara's wife Melo gave birth to their daughter Luna Guevara.[93]
Guevara has his own YouTube channel, which has 200,000 subscribers as of 2022. He regularly uploadsvlogs (video blogs) on the channel.[94] Guevara featured in the AEW mobile game, "AEW Elite GM" in 2021.[95] Notable vlogs of Guevara's include his trips to do shows for promotions outside North America, his initial adventures as a wrestler working for independent promotions around the United States, as well as his adventures traveling around the United States with his AEW co-workers. Guevara's friends and fellow AEW co-workers, such asFuego Del Sol,Griff Garrison,Alan "5" Angels, Isiah Kassidy,Dustin Rhodes,Aaron Solow and wifeTay Melo make frequent appearances, and the vlogs, instead of sticking strictly to a visual diary format, now include specific fictional storylines between the aforementioned wrestling personalities.[96]
_(cropped).jpg)
.jpg)
,Wrestlingdata