It’s been quite some time since Tay Melo has started training sessions for making an in-ring comeback in All Elite Wrestling. No such creative aspect has been spotted on the company’s part, however, to bring back the popular female wrestler on TV. As such, the newly become mother made her comeback to in-ring competition during a STARDOM event that went down last night.
For the latest STARDOM show, it was officially announced that Tay Melo will be teaming up with Mina Shirakawa to square off against ROH Women’s Champion Athena and Thekla. Named the STARDOM’s New Year Dream, the show went down on January 3rd at the Tokyo Garden Theater and this tag match took place on the card.
During the match, Tay Melo displayed several agile moves inside the squared circle, showing the fans that she’s completely off the ring rust. Despite almost two years of in-ring absence, she hasn’t lost a step. A pumping knee followed by a controlled piledriver on Athena and a suicide dive from the top rope easily indicated that she was ready to be back on AEW TV if and when the call would be made.
Renee Paquette Reveals Reason For Absence At AEW Dynamite Fight For The Fallen 2025
That KNEE! @taymelo #STARDOM pic.twitter.com/U9uy8XBO68
— JJ Williams (@JJWilliamsWON) January 3, 2025
【📺1.3有明大会PPV生配信中‼】
タイ・メロがアティーナにゴッチ式パイルドライバー！
🔻第2試合までYoutube無料配信！https://t.co/sqRLjHEkwW
🔻PPV購入はこちらhttps://t.co/SFEbXYLg7T
🔻PPV for fans from overseashttps://t.co/LTKBOpWzFC#STARDOM pic.twitter.com/sD1yNplamc
— スターダム✪STARDOM (@wwr_stardom) January 3, 2025
Tay Melo digested the loss on behalf of her team at STARDOM show
However, Tay Melo’s in-ring return wasn’t fully successful as she turned out to be the one to get pinned. In the closing moments of this tag match, Athena ultimately nailed the returnee with an O-Face and ended up winning the match for her team. This was an expected outcome as Mina needed to be protected due to her upcoming title defense against Mercedes Mone.
Athena hits Tay Melo with a picture perfect O-Face and gets the win over Tay and Mina in her STARDOM debut🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/fwoJYod7rf
— 🅰️🅾️ (@KXNGAO) January 3, 2025
Tay Melo reflects on her in-ring return after 22 MONTHS, while Mina Shirakawa gives her a full throated endorsement.
Is there a new tag team in the future after #STARDOM NEW YEAR DREAM 2025?
🎤 @emilymaeheller catches up with the pair backstage to find out pic.twitter.com/kxvW50tV6n
— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) January 3, 2025
Before this bout, Tay Melo’s last match took place on March 11, 2023, when she teamed up with her husband Sammy Guevara to defeat Encore and Tiara James at NEW Wrestlefest XXVII. Afterward, she announced pregnancy with Sammy which led to a hiatus that lasted for almost a couple of years.
Then it was in the fall of 2024 that Sean Ross Sapp addressed Tay Melo’s status on Fightful Select, confirming that she is still on maternity leave on paper but her engagement on training sessions hasn’t stopped. There’s still no update on whether she will be back in AEW or continue to perform for STARDOM.
