TayJay

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TayJay
Tay Melo (left) and Anna Jay (right)
Tag team
MembersTay Melo
Anna Jay
Name(s)TayJay
TayJay A.S
Billed heightsTay: 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Anna: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
DebutAugust 4, 2020
Years active2020–present

TayJay is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Tay Melo and Anna Jay. They currently perform in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), though the duo is currently inactive due to Melo's real-life pregnancy.

The team was originated after Jay and Melo (then known as Tay Conti) were paired for AEW Women's Tag Team Cup Tournament: The Deadly Draw, where they would become an onscreen pair despite Conti being a babyface and Anna being a member of the heel Dark Order faction. However, after all of The Dark Order turned face due to Mr. Brodie Lee's death in December 2020, the duo would become a babyface tag team, with Conti becoming an associated member of The Dark Order after Jay suffered an injury in early 2021. After quietly disbanding in early 2022, Melo and Jay would be reunited as heels in the JAS after Jay helped her partner in attacking Ruby Soho during JAS leader's Chris Jericho match against Eddie Kingston at Fyter Fest.

History[edit]

The Dark Order (2020–2022)[edit]

On August 4, 2020, Melo (then known as Tay Conti) debuted in All Elite Wrestling, and teamed with Jay to compete in the AEW Women's Tag Team Cup Tournament: The Deadly Draw. The team defeated Nyla Rose and Ariane Andrew in the quarterfinals but lost to Ivelisse and Diamante during the semi-finals.[1][2] On the August 26 episode of Dynamite, she received a contract from the stable The Dark Order to join them, the group in which Jay was a member of.[3]

On September 9, AEW announced that Conti had officially signed with the company.[4] From there on, the duo would often disagree on their approach to their matches, with the heel Jay trying to win by using dirty tactics while the babyface Conti would often implore her not to do so. On December 30, she and Jay defeated Britt Baker and Penelope Ford on the special episode of Dynamite and tribute to deceased leader of The Dark Order, Brodie Lee, dubbed the Brodie Lee Celebration of Life.[5] This turned Jay and the rest of The Dark Order into babyfaces; however, in February 2021 Jay suffered a shoulder injury during training. She underwent surgery the following month, and was expected not to wrestle for 6–12 months, putting the team on hold.[6] However, Conti would still be accompanied by Dark Order members for her matches, thus becoming an associated member of the group.

Jay returned from injury on the September 1 episode of Dynamite, saving Conti from an attack by Ford and The Bunny after Conti defeated Ford in a match.[7] In November, Jay competed in the TBS Women's Championship Tournament, where she lost to Jamie Hayter in the first round.[8] After months of feuding, the team of Jay and Conti defeated the team of Ford and The Bunny in a street fight on December 31 on Rampage.[9] Jay then challenged Jade Cargill for the AEW TBS Championship in the main event of the January 21, 2022 edition of Rampage, where she was unsuccessful.[10]

Jericho Appreciation Society (2022-present)[edit]

Shortly thereafter, Conti would turn heel alongside her real-life boyfriend Sammy Guevara when they joined the Jericho Appreciation Society stable. Afterwards, Conti and Jay teased a breakup between them when Jay questioned Conti's actions, but on July 20, during Night 2 of Fyter Fest, Jay turned heel by attacking Ruby Soho, thus reuniting with Conti and joining the Jericho Appreciation Society.[11] As part of her heel turn, Jay tweaked her ring name to "Anna Jay A.S." as a reference to her new stable, while also being referred by her original name. Conti also tweaked her name to "Tay Melo". The feud between Melo and Soho resumed on the November 30 episode of Dynamite, leading to a match at Winter Is Coming where Soho defeated Melo.[citation needed] The feud continued with Melo and Jay defeating Soho and Willow Nightingale on the December 28 episode of Dynamite; Soho and Nightingale however defeated Melo and Jay on the January 11, 2023 episode of Rampage in a street fight.[citation needed]

Championships and accomplishments[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (August 3, 2020). "AEW Women's Tag Team Cup Tournament: Deadly Draw Results (8/3): Veda, Shaul Guerrero, Madusa Appear". Fightful. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Powell, Jason (August 17, 2020). "8/17 AEW Deadly Draw tournament results: Powell's live review of Diamante and Ivelisse vs. Tay Conti and Anna Jay, and Brandi Rhodes and Allie vs. Big Swole and Lil' Swole in semifinal tournament matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  3. ^ Powell, Jason (August 27, 2020). "8/27 AEW Dynamite results: Powell's live review of FTR vs. Best Friends vs. The Young Bucks vs. Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall in a gauntlet match for a shot at the AEW Tag Titles, Jon Moxley vs. MJF contract signing for the AEW Championship match at All Out, Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara in a tables match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  4. ^ Satin, Ryan (September 9, 2020). "AEW Confirms Tay Conti Is Now "All Elite"". Pro Wrestling Sheet. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  5. ^ Mueller, Chris (December 30, 2020). "AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Reaction, Highlights from Brodie Lee Tribute Show". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Currier, Joseph (March 11, 2021). "AEW's Anna Jay undergoes shoulder surgery". F4Wonline.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  7. ^ Thompson, Andrew (September 1, 2021). "Anna Jay returns on AEW Dynamite and saves Tay Conti". POST Wrestling. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  8. ^ DeFelice, Robert; Guzzo, Gisberto (November 3, 2021). "Jamie Hayter Advances To The Quarterfinals Of The AEW TBS Title Tournament". Fightful. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  9. ^ Collins, Joseph (December 31, 2021). "AEW Rampage live results: TNT title match, tag team street fight". F4Wonline.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  10. ^ Mueller, Chris (January 21, 2022). "AEW Rampage Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from January 21". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  11. ^ Staff, A. E. W. (2022-07-28). "AEW Dynamite: Fight For The Fallen Results for July 27, 2022". All Elite Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2022-08-03. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  12. ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (March 23, 2022). "Complete List Of 2022 AEW Award Winners". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  13. ^ @Inside_TheRopes (January 22, 2022). "The winner of the Inside The Ropes Magazine 2021 Most Improved Award is...TAY CONTI (@TayConti_ / @AEW)See the…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Women's 150 2021 List in Full". Wrestling Travel. October 28, 2021. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  15. ^ McElvaney, Kevin (October 21, 2021). "2021 PWI Women's 150 – The Top 5 Revealed!". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  16. ^ Meltzer, Dave (February 18, 2022). "February 21, 2022 Observer Newsletter: 2021 Awards issue, Cody and Brandi Rhodes leave AEW". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.