It’s Time to Elevate Tay Melo Back into the AEW Women’s Title Picture

AEW needs to add more names to the top of the women’s division and Tay Melo is one that should be in consideration. 

Tay Melo needs to be the next AEW Women’s Championship contender. The AEW Women’s Championship scene is quite confusing as we are on the heels of a triple threat match at Revolution pitting AEW Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter versus Ruby Soho versus Saraya. The storyline has been difficult to follow, as Hayter and Britt Baker were the heels of the women’s division, before quickly shifting as the baby faces, with Saraya and Toni Storm becoming the villains in a random moment on dynamite.

With the way the story is going, it will likely be a new rivalry needed as soon as possible. however, the AEW women’s division doesn’t have a ton of wrestlers elevated to that level, and they’re going to need to elevate somebody else to the top of that division. the perfect wrestler to do so is Tay Melo.

The Street Fight Shines Against AEW’s Best

Tay Melo has the look, charisma, and character to become one of the biggest stars of the company. Melo is one of the best wrestlers in the division, even earning Wrestling Observer’s Most Improved Award for 2021. Most recently, Melo was in a feud with partner Anna Jay against Soho and Willow Nightingale. The feud led to a bloody street fight and unfortunately aggravated a back protrusion that she has been dealing with for years. The injury can give Melo some time to come back in a big way.

Due to her familiarity with street fights, Tay Melo has been dubbed “The Street Fight”. Melo could lean more into her backstory as a vicious fight, talking more about her upbringing in the rough favelas of Brazil and her background in Judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. This is a perfect tough gimmick to face the likes of Jamie Hayter, Hikaru Shida, Britt Baker, and Ruby Soho. No matter who is the champion upon her return, Melo can also display more of her strong style. Melo is a hard-hitting brawler when she wants to be, showing why her idols are Minoru Suzuki and Katsuyori Shibata.

A Personality for the Cameras

Tay Melo has an exuberant personality that should be displayed on AEW much more, whether that is with Sammy Guevara or not. However, Tony Khan needs to take her out of the background of JAS and more into the foreground. Luckily for Melo, AEW: All Access is the perfect platform for her to propel more of who she is. Melo’s cheerful personality, excited attitude, and comedic timing are all things that have made me a massive Tay Melo fan on Sammy Guevara’s vlogs. The AEW: All Access show can display more of her personality to a crowd that might have a different perception of her, and more fans will want to see Melo on the screen.

Tay Melo Walks Through The Forbidden Door

Melo has spoken about her desire to work in Japan and her love of Japanese style. A pay-per-view like Forbidden Door is the perfect time to spotlight her. Melo can be elevated the months prior to the Forbidden Door pay-per-view, showing up in both AEW and Stardom/NJPW events, and staking her claim as the most vicious and hardcore women’s wrestler in the industry.

This could lead to a feud with AEW Women’s Champion, Jamie Hayter, who we’ve seen have terrific matches with hard-hitting opponents, and works Melo’s style extremely well. This feud would allow Hayter to have a feud that is separate from Baker, and display what both wrestlers are best at doing.

Hayter has also spent years in Stardom and working against Melo could lead to a fatal four-way between Hayter, Melo, and two of Stardom’s best. Melo is on record stating that she wants to wrestle World of Stardom Champion Giulia, telling Dark Puroresu Flowsion, “Honestly, I want to wrestle them all. I love Japanese style. It’s part of my roots because of judo. I always loved the culture, the language, the respect they have for each other, and the hard work. It’s no surprise that I want to wrestle Giulia more than anyone else. I can’t wait to share a ring with her one day.”

With the right build, a four-way match between Melo, Hayter, Giulia, and the likes of Mercedes Mone, Kairi Sane, AZM, etc could be the perfect match that last year’s Forbidden Door show lacked.