10 Times AEW Were Moments From Disaster

3. The Life And Times And Bumps Of Sammy Guevara

Daniel Garcia
AEW

Sammy Guevara may yet live up to the potential implied by his canonisation as one of the company's Four Pillars, but his story will be one of the more jagged in AEW history if he makes it to the top of the mountain.

A run alongside Chris Jericho in the earliest days of the organisation existed to help him ascend, and he survived PR suspensions and a terrifying injury-laden programme with Matt Hardy to turn babyface during The Inner Circle's run against The Pinnacle.

A split from the group as a solo hero hit the skids when audiences turned on him and new real life partner Tay Melo during a TNT Championship run that had already been derailed by COVID interjections and the general disarray of the Codyverse. Attempts to win favour via increasing danger in ultimately fruitless matches against Scorpio Sky didn't win him new friends, and almost every programme in the aftermath felt lesser than for all the characters involved and the maligned (and spunk-soaked) TNT Champion.

And yet, his patience may remain his virtue. A September 14th Dynamite match against Jon Moxley was a timely reminder of his thrilling ability and outstanding fundamentals. In an era with four massive stars (and egos) lifted from the show in the form of CM Punk, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, the original pillar might yet stand a chance of holding the empire up.

 
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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett