By Dan, Wrestling Spot Editor
Sammy Guevara became All Elite Wrestling's TNT Champion for the third time during the Battle of the Belts II special which aired on April 16. The 'Spanish God' defeated Scorpio Sky, who had held the belt for just over a month. The two have been part of a wider feud which has seen Guevara and his girlfriend Tay Conti pitted against the American Top Team Faction, of which Scorpio Sky is a member.
Wrestling Spot takes a look at ten possible TNT Championship opponents for Guevara as he begins his third reign.
1- Scorpio Sky
While Sammy is evidently a huge talent in AEW who has continued to rise to new heights in recent months, it was nevertheless somewhat surprising for Scorpio Sky to drop the straps back to him after such a short title reign, in which he made only one successful title defence. This twist is compounded by so much being made of Sky's unbeaten streak in singles competition over the 12 months and by AEW Titles generally not changing hands so quickly historically. As mentioned in the introduction to this article, Guevara is currently up against Sky's American Top Team faction in a angle which has now been ongoing for some weeks now and, at the time of writing, has yet to reach a discernible pay-off for the audience. A re-match with Sky or indeed Sammy facing other members of American Top Team therefore would seem a logical progression in this developing storyline.
2. Swerve Strickland
Strickland enjoyed a high-profile entrance to his AEW career, making his debut appearance during the recent Revolution PPV at the start of March. Since then he has been engaged, along with Keith Lee, in a feud against Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs of Team Taz. Tony Khan has made no secret of the fact that he is a fan of Strickland's work and having already impressed in his FTW Title match with Starks, a TNT Championship match may be the next step for the former WWE NXT North American Champion.
3. Keith Lee
In a similar fashion to Strickland, Lee is another ex-WWE talent that Tony Khan was quick to snap up when his services become available. He was clearly a popular addition with the AEW fans when he made his debut in a dominating victory against Isiah Kassidy to qualify for the Face of the Revolution ladder match. While he ultimately lost out to Wardlow in that match, he has impressed in his feud with Team Taz and is clearly someone who AEW will want to give a high profile to. With MJF, Adam Cole and CM Punk seemingly the key runners chasing the AEW World Championship at this time, the TNT Championship may provide the perfect, if not more immediate, opportunity to Lee to demonstrate why he is known as 'limitless.'
4. Wheeler Yuta
Yuta is evidently a star on the rise in AEW. In recent weeks he has enjoyed a rising profile and impressed against the Blackpool Combat Club's Brian Danielson and Jon Moxley. These encounters eventually led to William Regal inviting Yuta to join Danielson and Moxley in one of AEW's newest and most exciting factions. Yuta also recently won the Ring of Honor Pure Championship at Supercard of Honor XV, the first ROH event since Tony Khan acquired the promotion. A TNT Tile shot could be the next step in further elevating Yuta, but equally his storylines could alternatively focus on team efforts alongside Danielson/Moxley or defending his ROH Pure Championship belt.
5. Brian Cage
Cage has been conspicuous by his absence from AEW since the end of a feud with Ricky Starks which seen him leave Team Taz and lose the FTW Tile. His absence led to speculation that Cage was one of the stars who may not have their contract renewed, however it was recently reported that AEW had picked up the option to extend his contract. Cage then made a surprise appearance, as a new client of Tully Blanchard, in a winning effort against Ninja Mack at ROH Supercard of Honor XV. With Blanchard's recent AEW storyline seeing him sacked by FTR, a surprise return for Cage in a TNT Championship match against Guevara could be a good way to re-introduce the pair to AEW.
6. Malaki Black
Black has had notable feuds with Cody Rhodes and the Death Triangle in his tenure at AEW to date. He is also the leading figure in the ominous 'House of Black', which now includes Brody King and Buddy Matthews. Considerable emphasis has been placed on the power of the House in their imitable promos, vignettes and dominating performances. With effective booking, Black could enjoy one of the most commanding and longest running TNT Champion reigns to date.
7. Darby Allin
A highlight in Guevara's second championship reign was his match against former TNT Champion, Darby Allin. There was nothing really to separate them in a thrilling main event, until that was Andrade El Idlo and Matt Hardy attacked Darby while the referee was blind-sided attending to Guevara who had fell in the centre of the ring. A confused Sammy rose to see a stricken Darby but asked no questions and hit the GTH to pin his opponent and retain his belt. Subsequent developments would see Sammy defend against Andrade and Darby in a three-way encounter and team up with Darby and Sting against Andrade, Matt Hardy and Isiah Kassidy at Revolution. That was when the story stopped in terms of Guevara's involvement. It does seem that there is unfinished business between two of AEW's top young stars who have so much in common and a undoubted in-ring chemistry together.
8. Kip Sabian
Sabian has not been in competition since March 2021, having been written out of programming through a backstage attack by Miro. Sabian has been repeatedly spotted in the crowd in recent months with a gimmick that sees him wear a box on his head. Following Sammy's win at Battle of the Belts II, Kip posted this cryptic tweet in which he made reference to the TNT Champion. Kip and Sammy were opponents in AEW's first ever singles match and have gone onto host a You Tube series together. Could a TNT Championship match and/or possible feud be the basis for Sabian's return?
9. Penta Oscuro
Penta has been competing without his regular partner Ray Fenix since the latter was injured on the night the Lucha Bros lost the AEW World Tag Team Championships to Jurassic Express back in January. He has impressed in singles competition and could prove a strong championship opponent for Sammy.
10. Shawn Spears
Sammy and Sean actually once teamed together in the early days of AEW but are better known as staunch rivals, particularly during the long running storyline between the Inner Circle and Pinnacle. Spears posted this reaction to Sammy's recent championship win and it is not unimaginable, based on recent storylines, to picture Spears getting his championship match against his old rival only for this to be interrupted by Wardlow who is now actively looking to disrupt the work of his former fellow Pinnacle members Spears and MJF.
Who would you like to see Sammy face, join the discussion in the 'Comments' section.
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