Tay Melo has been absent from in-ring action since she and Anna Jay teamed up to take on Willow Nightingale and Ruby Soho in a Street Fight on the January 13th episode of AEW Rampage.
Speaking on Elite POV about her recent in-ring absence, Melo dealing with a protrusion on her back for a number of years that began to flare up again ahead of her Street Fight loss to Ruby and Willow. The JAS member noted that she was asked by doctors whether she wanted to go ahead with the bout and decided to persevere, however, she also recalled having difficulty walking prior to the match.
“I have a protrusion on my back, so it’s something that I’ve been dealing with for more than 10 years by now. I know how to go about it. Before the match, I started feeling it a little bit, and the doctors in AEW, they’re super good. I told them, they helped me see if it was okay to do it. They asked me, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna do it. Let’s go.’ I’ll never say no, let me tell you, unless I’m really dying. I was like, I’m in pain, I knew I was in pain. The day before, let me tell you, I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t walk. At the airport, the walk was so long, we had to get a wheelchair for me because I was not able to walk for too long. It was really bad,”
-Tay Melo
Continuing, Melo described how she was able to do the match, although she was in a lot of pain once it was over. She then stated that she went to multiple doctors and confirmed that she’s currently unable to compete, noting that whilst she’s okay, doctors are being precautious as they want to make sure she’s 100% before getting back in the ring.
“It was getting better. The doctors helped me a little bit. The day of the match, in the morning, they were helping me with a massage and stuff. So I was able to do the match, bur after the match, I knew it would suck because I was already in pain. All the girls and everybody was so nice, and they were helping me because they saw in my face. I’m always super excited, I was excited, but you could tell that I was in pain. I’m trying to kind of hide it and let people get worried about me. I’m like, ‘No, I’ll be fine.’ But people know. Then after the match, I checked everything. I went to a couple different doctors and our doctor in AEW. So I’m not cleared for now, but I will be really soon. I’m good, don’t worry. I want to be cleared, but the doctor trying to hold me [back] a little bit to make sure I’m 100%. They told me I will be cleared in the next couple weeks, so I’ll be fine,”
-Tay Melo
Tay Melo, alongside her fellow Jericho Appreciation Society stablemates, will be banned from ringside as the faction’s leader Chris Jericho is set to take on Ricky Starks at the upcoming AEW Revolution PPV.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any updates on Tay Melo’s injury status as soon as we hear more, and we wish her all the best in her recovery.
H/T to Fightful for the transcription.
