Tag: Tay Conti

Paige VanZant expected to be added to AEW Double or Nothing card

A match featuring former UFC star Paige VanZant is “listed” for AEW Double or Nothing in Las Vegas on May 29.

It’s not definite yet, but MMA star Paige VanZant could be making her AEW in-ring debut this Sunday at Double or Nothing.

On the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said a match pairing VanZant with either Scorpio Sky or Ethan Page against Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti is “listed” for the pay-per-view, which takes place May 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (h/t to Andrew Ravens of WrestlingNews.co for the transcription).

They’re still going to do something with Sammy Guevara and Scorpio Sky. So the plan for sure was a mixed tag. …

They said they were gonna do it until they get the match they want, and they made it very clear the match they wanted was Sammy and Tay against Paige VanZant and Scorpio Sky or Ethan Page, they want that mixed tag. Unless something changed, the mixed tag is it….I was outright told over the weekend that it was listed. Until it’s announced it’s not announced, they could do it a different way. But, I was actually outright told that the match is tentatively scheduled for the pay-per-view.

VanZant’s most recent appearance on AEW programming came on the April 27 episode of AEW Dynamite, when she assisted Sky in winning the TNT Championship from Guevara in a Ladder match. The former UFC fighter was said to have signed with AEW in March, but she has yet to compete in an official match.

VanZant sparked some speculation of her own by posting new clips of some of her pro wrestling training on Twitter this weekend.

The rivalry between Sky and Guevara has included Sky’s Men of the Year partner Page and American Top Team head Dan Lambert, as well as Guevara’s girlfriend and fellow AEW wrestler Conti. But it has been somewhat confusing at times, with Sky’s side demanding a mixed tag team match — that would presumably involve VanZant — without spelling out exactly who would be in it or where it would take place.

[lawrence-related id=1145]

Double or Nothing would be a perfect time for it, if AEW feels it has time on what is already a pretty loaded card. The promotion has live episodes of Dynamite and Rampage set for Las Vegas this week that should provide an answer as to whether fans will finally see VanZant as a pro wrestler during the holiday weekend.

Tony Khan on Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti: ‘I misread how happy the fans would be for them’

Tony Khan said on the Swerve City podcast that he “misread how happy the fans would be” for Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti.

Tony Khan figured that since AEW fans cheered Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti separately, they’d like them even more as a power couple. Imagine his surprise when the reaction was exactly the opposite.

Indeed, fans have been lustily booing Guevara and Conti in recent weeks, leading Khan to switch gears with them creatively. It’s had a ripple effect as well: While Scorpio Sky, partner Ethan Page and American Top Team head honcho Dan Lambert were clearly supposed to be the heels when they first started having issues with Guevara and Conti, Sky has pivoted to be a fan favorite, and Page seems to be teetering on the edge of a switch as well (Lambert … not so much, at least to date).

As Khan explained on a recent appearance on the Swerve City podcast, he simply didn’t expect fans to react the way they did when presenting the two wrestlers as a couple (h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription).

“I was really happy for them, so maybe I misread how happy the fans would be for them,” Khan said. “So, I think I have course-corrected that. You don’t try to fit a square peg in a round hole. I like Sammy, I like Tay, the fans like Sammy, the fans like Tay. I like Sammy and Tay together, the fans do not, and that’s where we differentiate, so that’s what I have come to accept.”

It would be easy to criticize Khan after the fact for thinking that Guevara, who had proposed to his then-girlfriend Pam on AEW programming not that long before, would be greeted warmly while parading around with Conti. But the important thing is that the double turn has been made, giving Guevara a chance to capitalize on his knack for saying things to get fans riled up. This is one “course correction” that likely will prove to be the right one.