31-year-old star comments on being Cody Rhodes’ final opponent in AEW

An AEW star and former champion has opened up on serving as Cody Rhodes' last opponent in the Tony Khan-led promotion. The talent in question, Sammy Guevara, is incidentally part of a tag team with the WWE superstar's brother, Dustin Rhodes.

The 31-year-old star holds the unique distinction of having wrestled Cody in a losing effort in the first match on the very first episode of AEW Dynamite. The two men feuded over the TNT Championship two years later, and eventually squared off in a Title Unification ladder bout on Dynamite: Beach Break 2022, which ended up being Rhodes' final AEW match before his departure and eventual WWE return.

During a recent interview with The Wrestling Classic, Sammy Guevara was asked about his history with The American Nightmare in AEW. The high-flyer shed light on how his match against Cody on Dynamite #1 came together and expressed his gratitude towards the latter for granting him the opportunity.

"Yeah, the first match, I remember hearing about it a couple months before. Nick Jackson told me, I thought he was just ribbing me, he said, 'Yeah, you're gonna have a match with Cody, I think on the first episode of Dynamite.' I'm like, 'Yeah, okay.' As weeks got closer, it's like, 'Oh, this is actually happening.' Maybe Cody just saw, 'This guy's got potential or something, and he chose me to be his opponent, but very grateful for that, because that was a big spot to be in." [0:09 - 0:34]

Reflecting on their ladder match from 2022, Guevara added:

"So, at that time, it was the rumors that Cody was possibly working without a contract or leaving. I think I flew in the day before so we could kinda talk some things over. You could just tell. I didn't know he was going anywhere, I thought maybe he was just gonna go spend time with his kid or something, 'cause he kept looking at pictures of his baby.. Yeah, I could feel this might be it for him." [0:58 - 1:19]

Alongside Cody Rhodes' brother Dustin, Guevara unsuccessfully challenged The Hurt Syndicate for the AEW World Tag Team Titles at this year's Double or Nothing. The duo, going by The Sons of Texas, also hold the ROH World Tag Team Titles in Ring of Honor.

Sammy Guevara was in action recently on AEW TV

Earlier this month, All Elite Wrestling brought back Fyter Fest as a four-hour television special. The Collision portion of the event aired a four-way match for the ROH World Television Title, featuring AR Fox, Lee Johnson, Sammy Guevara, and defending champion Nick Wayne. The Prodigy retained his belt after pinning Fox and walked out of Denver victorious.

Despite the lost title opportunity, Guevara continues to hold the ROH World Tag Team Championship with Dustin Rhodes, and The Sons of Texas just crossed the 300-day mark as the champions.

It remains to be seen when Guevara will appear next on AEW television.