In Tony Nese’s first match as an official member of the All Elite Wrestling roster, he challenged Sammy Guevara for the AEW TNT Championship on the December 3 episode of AEW Rampage. Unfortunately, the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion couldn’t walk away with the belt, as he lost a hard-fought match to “The Sexy Spanish God.”
In what was an incredible debut match for Nese after Tony Khan announced that “The Premier Athlete” was “All Elite”, he failed to put Guevara away, despite his best effort. After starting out hot, Nese faltered for a bit, allowing Guevara to hit him with multiple big shots late before Nese finally rallied. He dropped the champion and landed a 450-splash off the top ropes for a near fall. Nese then made a costly mistake when he got a bit too cocky while he taunted Guevara and set him up for his Running Nese finisher.
Nese wound up for the move, but Guevara countered it and blasted the challenger with a running knee of his own. This blow dropped Nese for good and allowed Guevara to pin his opponent in order to retain his title.
A tough test from @TonyNese, but @sammyguevara is STILL the TNT Champion! Great match to kick off #AEWRampage – Tune in NOW on @tntdrama! pic.twitter.com/tmvIZw0ToW
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) December 4, 2021
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