Tay Melo posts cryptic video amid AEW release reports
Tay Melo made some comments recently on Instagram that many are taking as an analogy for her current situation with AEW.
During the AEW Redemption media call on Thursday, Tony Khan stated that Melo had asked for her release from the company last month and that he planned to grant it. Khan said Melo had told him she wanted to “step away from wrestling.”
On Friday’s edition of Wrestling Observer Live, our own Bryan Alvarez provided an update on the situation. Alvarez originally reported that Melo had requested her release from AEW last year and said that he was told this months ago.
Alvarez said:
“As I was talking to people, I had multiple people tell me that Tay Melo had asked for her release, and I was told this was months ago. I was told it had been denied, and that’s what I reported.
He was asked about this on the media call, and he said that she made the request a few weeks ago. It initially took him by surprise. She asked for her release following a match on Collision, which is true. She told him that she wanted to step away from wrestling, and he said that he now plans to grant the request. So she will be getting her AEW release.“
After co-host Tom Lawlor asked why she would request her release if she does not plan to wrestle again, Alvarez responded:
“I believe she wants to wrestle somewhere else. So we’ll see, but that is what I believe, and we’ll find out when she gets released.”
“It would seem strange to want out of a contract that pays you guaranteed money every week to just not wrestle.”
Melo also posted a video to Instagram recently, leading some to conclude that she was speaking about her current status with AEW.
Melo said in the video:
“I dreamed of having a pink tree, so I ordered one. It arrived at my house in a pot. Then we placed the pot near the irrigation system and waited for the guy to come plant it.
Days went by. He didn’t show up, and my tree started dying.
One morning, I looked at it, and it looked completely dead. I was so frustrated. I felt like I had wasted money, time, and my dreams.
But then my husband said, “Why don’t we try to save it? Don’t throw it away. Let’s water it a little more.”
So every day, on top of the automatic irrigation, we used the hose, giving it extra water. And then, yes, it did start to show signs of life, but it was not thriving.
Then I realized something: It didn’t just need more water. It needed to be planted where it was meant to grow.
So we planted it in the ground, and a few days later, this is my tree: beautiful, blooming, like it’s meant to be.
And you see, the tree only looked like it was dying because it was living in a place it was never meant to stay.
But don’t get me wrong. The pot wasn’t bad. In fact, the pot served a really important purpose. It protected the tree during the journey from the nursery to my home. But the pot was never meant to be its permanent home. The ground was.
Be grateful for the pot, but pay attention to the ground.
Have a good one.”
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has appeared in award-winning publications such as NOW Magazine and The Huffington Post. He joined the F4WOnline team in 2019 and was named managing editor in the summer of 2026. Born in Calgary, Alberta, Ian has covered professional wrestling for more than 15 years.