Sammy Guevara’s talent is getting overshadowed by his bullshit

I remember watching the first episode of AEW Dynamite.  I wasn’t the least bit surprised that Cody Rhodes put himself into the first-ever match.  But the guy he was up against, Sammy Guevara, I knew jack shit about.  Why was he coming out in a panda hat?  How did all the fans in attendance seem to already know who he was?  Was I really that out of touch with the business and too insulated in the WWE Universe®?

Obviously, everyone and their mother knew that Cody was winning, but in spite of it, I remember being very impressed with Guevara.  It was clear to why he was given the distinct honor of getting to be on the very first televised AEW match in history, he was talented as fuck in the ring.  A cursory search afterward showed that he was trained by Booker T, and the five time five time five time five time five time WCW champion seems to have been as good of a trainer as there could’ve been.

As the Inner Circle formed, it was pretty clear that Guevara was the designated workhorse of the faction, as Chris Jericho was the leader, Santana and Ortiz were the designated tag team, and Jack Swagger Jake Hager was the heavy.  But even mired in one of the 52 factions in AEW, it really didn’t take long for Guevara to stand out among the promotion’s bloated roster, because he was an above average worker, had a massive skillset, could sell, could speak and had the general looks of an upper-tier guy.

However, it also didn’t take long for Guevara to end up in hot water, with him being documented as having once said he “would rape that shit” when referring to the WWE’s Sasha Banks.  But being a guy that the company had high hopes for, he was taken off tv for a second, and eventually the whole thing blew over.  He would have some outstanding feuds with Darby Allin and Matt Hardy to help make fans forget.

Not long after pandemic restrictions began lifting, AEW hit the road, and one of their first stops was in Houston.  A packed house was witness to Sammy cutting a supposedly heart-felt promo about his girlfriend Pam, which culminated with a marriage proposal that she accepted, much to the happy pop of a crowd that didn’t concern themselves with if Sammy was a heel or a face at that time.  This was in August 2021.

It wasn’t really long afterward that there were lots of rumors that swirled about Sammy Guevara and his “just friends” relationship with Tay Conti.  They were always seen together, photographed together, and it really didn’t take long for fans all over to connect the dots that there was something likely more between the two of them.

Eventually, Sammy and Pam broke it off and broke up, and Sammy and Tay came out publicly about the most obvious relationship since like Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen.   Yes, it sucked that the implications were that there was an affair involved, but the sentiment of the internet seemed satisfied at having called it the whole time, regardless of the fact that Pam’s personal life was mostly humiliated and wrecked from how it all transpired.

What I think the problem really ended up being, was that kayfabe or not, both Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti have been obnoxiously now flaunting their relationship, which seems kind of insensitive and dickish, considering Sammy pledged engagement not even a full year prior.  But I’m not even seeking this shit out, but nary does a week go by where I don’t somehow see that the two of them are making out in public, or are on vacation together, or some photograph of Sammy’s shredded abs and/or Tay’s Brazilian ass that she’s very proud of.

And to make matters worse, they’ve taken their relationship to work, and it’s currently being used in a horrifically cringeworthy feud between Sammy and Tay with Dan Lambert’s stable.  However now that it’s being worked into the product, the fans, specifically AEW’s mark-y, tribalistic, basement dwellers out in public, have been able to publicly express their opinions about the players involved, and it’s apparent that I’m not the only one who seems to have soured towards Sammy and Tay.

I’m entertained that fans are turning on them, and it doesn’t really feel like it’s manufactured, deliberate heat, so much as it’s kind of a facet of X-Pac heat, as in fuck you, we’re booing you because you’ve done something shitty and we want you to know that.  I think fans have seen the narrative of their generally deplorable behavior, especially towards Pam, and are reacting accordingly.  Sure, as a performer, the goal is always to elicit a response from the crowd, whether it is good or bad, but given the circumstances they’re in, they probably shouldn’t be wanting any X-Pac heat.

When the day is over, Sammy will likely always have a job in AEW, because he’s far too talented in spite of the fact that he’s kind of an asshole douchebag.  I want to stay high on him, because he really is a tremendous talent, but on a personal level, I think he’s a douchebag.

Tay on the other hand, has shown a lot of improvement from her horrible NXT days, but is widely replaceable on the roster.  But both of them, their ceilings are going to be hampered by their bullshit, because as much as professional wrestling is a scripted, premeditated soap opera, the fans are still human, and exercise their right to voice their displeasure when they think they’re witnessing bullshit behavior.

Leave a Reply