SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…
Sammy Guevara returned to AEW Dynamite one month after he was suspended for saying on a podcast several years ago that when he saw Sasha Banks backstage at WWE event, he wanted to rape her. Sammy has since apologized on Twitter and both he and Sasha have acknowledged that they have talked and he expressed regret to Sasha.
AEW President Tony Khan told Sports Illustrated that he is comfortable with Guevera serving a suspension that amounted to roughly one month off TV (the segment was taped last week, so fewer than 30 days after he was first suspended on June 22).
“Sammy completed four weeks of extensive sensitivity training, and his curriculum included subject matters of tolerance, gender, race relations, and why people’s words matter,” Khan said. “During his suspension, he was very contrite. I asked him to use that time to try and become a better person, and I think he did. Sammy was off television for a month and suspended without pay for 30 days, and I think it was the right time for Sammy to come back because he’s shown that he’s very sorry and that he can change. He’s spent every day over the past month trying to prove that.”
Last month, Sasha Banks said she spoke with Guevara. “Words like the comments he made, jokingly or not, have absolutely no place in our society!” she said. “What one thinks is just a side comment can have a massive impact on someone else’s life and can send the wrong message.”
Guevara returned with fanfare, unmasking at the end of Dynamite after impersonating another wrestler. He stuck his tongue out and gloated to the camera that he was back as Chris Jericho looked on in feigned shock. Guevara’s suspension was never acknowledged on TV or as part of any storyline.
In a PWTorch Twitter poll, more than six out of ten respondents thought Sammy’s suspension was long enough. One-in-four thought his suspension should have been longer. Nearly 14 percent said he should have been fired.
How do you feel about Sammy Guevara returning tonight? #AEWDynamite
— Pro Wrestling Torch (@PWTorch) July 23, 2020
RELATED: Sammy Guevara suspended without pay from AEW due to a podcast comment in 2016 about wanting to rape Sasha Banks, Sammy and Sasha comment
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