Absent AEW Star Returns During ROH Taping

As part of AEW's temporary residency in Arlington, Texas, this summer, numerous Ring of Honor events have been and will continue to be taped in the city's Esports Stadium. Yesterday's taping was notable as it featured the return of a long-absent AEW star — Sammy Guevara. During the show, Guevara came to the aid of Dustin Rhodes as he was attacked by The Dark Order, indicating that the controversial wrestler will be starting out as a babyface.

Guevara has been absent from AEW since February, when the young performer was reportedly suspended after not following proper procedure when Jeff Hardy was concussed during a match. The AEW star made several more appearances after the match with Hardy but disappeared later that month, when reports first emerged about his suspension.

That suspension was said to have ended months ago, but Guevara has not been brought back to television until now. It looks as though the Houston, Texas, native will now factor into ROH before presumably making a return to AEW sometime in the future.

The incident with Hardy earlier this year was not the first time Guevara has been attached to controversy. In the past, Guevara was reported to have had physical confrontations backstage with both Eddie Kingston and Andrade El Idolo. 

Additionally, Guevara was previously suspended from AEW in 2020 over highly offensive comments he made regarding the former Sasha Banks on a podcast in 2016. At the time, Guevara apologized and Banks (now known as Mercedes Mone) acknowledged that the two had spoken privately. However, Guevara has not yet made an appearance in AEW proper since Mone debuted in March and it's unclear if there are any lingering issues regarding the controversy.