BREAKING: Tony Khan Confirms He’ll Release Ex-WWE Star From AEW

Tony Khan recently confirmed that he is planning to release a former WWE star from AEW.

Tay Melo kicked off her wrestling career in 2016, joining WWE. She had a four-year run in the Stamford-based company, during which she competed on NXT. However, she was released from her contract in April 2020.

Following her departure from WWE, Melo signed with AEW, where she remains under contract. The 31-year-old last competed in June, teaming up with her TayJay partner, Anna Jay, against Divine Dominion on Collision.

Amid weeks of absence from TV, reports claimed that Melo requested her release back in 2025 but was denied by AEW and Tony Khan.

Tony Khan Is Releasing Tay Melo From AEW

During the AEW Redemption Media Call, Tony Khan was asked about Tay Melo’s current status in the company. The AEW CEO acknowledged the recent reports, revealing that they were inaccurate.

While Khan admitted that Melo had asked for her release, he clarified that it happened just a few weeks ago, not in 2025 as the reports claimed. He also revealed that the former WWE star told him that she wants to step away from wrestling.

A lot of inaccurate things I saw about Tay. Tay had said she wanted to step away from wrestling and said I love AEW and I love the people here, but I wanted to step away from AEW and step away from wrestling. And that’s what she told me, that wasn’t in 2025. That was weeks ago at Collision after she wrestled against Divine Dominoin.

The AEW CEO also revealed that he is planning on granting Melo her release.

I haven’t kept her here. Since that talk, I haven’t brought her back, booked her, and I’m gonna give Tay that release.

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