Sammy Guevara Talks Becoming the Breakout Star of AEW, Learning Under Chris Jericho

When AEW Dynamite first arrived on TNT back in October, one of the first wrestlers to pop up onscreen was Texas native Sammy Guevara. The 26-year-old was already known in certain circles of wrestling fandom from his time in Lucha Underground and Lucha Libre AAA, but this was his first chance in the spotlight on a nationally televised stage. And he didn't disappoint, pushing Cody Rhodes to his limit in a 12-minute match.

Fast forward to now and Guevara has firmly established himself as one of the two biggest rising stars in the company. As a member of Chris Jericho's Inner Circle faction, "The Spanish God" has become one of the most detestable personalities on the roster, but has managed to back up his trash talking with outstanding matches against the likes of Dustin Rhodes, Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega. This week's Dynamite will feature Guevara in the opening round of the TNT Championship Tournament, taking on AEW's other top rising star, Darby Allin.

"Me and Darby, I said it before, we are the two breakout stars of AEW," Guevara said in an interview with ComicBook.com on Tuesday. "Ever since I came in and he came in, they've always talked about, and then there's been discussions, who's the real breakout star here? ... It's like, all right, one of us has to fall, and I'm telling you that is not going to be me. Spoiler alert, I'm going to beat Darby, and I'm going to win this whole damn thing."

In the months since joining The Inner Circle, Guevara and Jericho have seemingly been inseparable on television as the young star tries to learn as much as he can from the 49-year-old former world champion.

"There's just so much [to learn from him,] Guevara said. "I feel like seeing him how, he works at 50 years old, doing all these different ventures, is motivating to me just to see. [It's like,] 'Okay, I'm doing this one thing and trying to be good at it, he's doing all these different things and being great at all of them.' Just watching him do all these different things is making me want to step up my game and work even harder."

Since March 18, AEW has been running empty arena shows due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, first in Jacksonville and then outside of Atlanta. Guevara spoke highly of how the AEW officials have been handling the situation, saying that they've been receptive to all questions and haven't tried to force any of the wrestlers to work.

"It's been super good, Every time there's new updates and stuff like that, they always send out emails, just keeping us informed. If we have any questions ourselves, Tony [Kahn, AEW's President], all them guys, all the higher up people they say to ask away, which I have. I've asked them, they've answered pretty much every question I have, which is cool because you don't want to be left out in the dark like, 'What is going on, guys?'"

When give the choice whether or not to travel to Georgia to wrestle the latest set of tapings, Guevara didn't hesitate.

"It's not the exact wording, but basically they were just saying if you don't feel comfortable, then by all means stay home, you're not forced to be here. I'm crazy though, so I was like, 'I'm going to be there.' But by no means that they forced me to go, it's all voluntary. They said that this won't be used against you, you're not going to be made fun of or any of that. They've been very cool about the whole situation."

Guevara vs. Allin will take place on this week's episode of AEW Dynamite, which airs from 8-10 p.m. ET on TNT.

Photo courtesy of AEW