A longtime companion of top star Cody Rhodes in WWE and AEW makes an unexpected return to WWE’s rebuilding NXT roster
Five years ago he left WWE due to a lack of prospects – now he’s back under new guises!
Shawn Spears, the former Tye Dillinger, has celebrated a surprising comeback on the current TV show of the NXT developmental squad: The 43-year-old Canadian attacked heavyweight Ridge Holland with a chair after previously revealing himself as the mysterious figure who had been sending cryptic video messages on NXT for several weeks.
WWE: Cody Rhodes’ companion Shawn Spears back
Shawn Spears (real name: Ronnie Arniell) is a longtime confidant of arguably the next Universal Champion Cody Rhodes: He was first a partner, then a rival of the young Rhodes in the then-WWE farm league OVW between 2006 and 2007:
In the WWE main roster, Spears (then: Gavin Spears), unlike Rhodes, did not make a lasting impact after that and was released in 2009. A comeback followed in 2013, as is the case today in the NXT squad, for which the current league leader “Triple H” Paul Levesque was responsible at the time.
Although Spears earned greater popularity in his then role as “Perfect Ten” Tye Dillinger, his subsequent move to the main roster was again not crowned with success. He wasn’t given a real chance under WWE founder Vince McMahon, who was dishonorably divorced that year.
New fresh start after leaving AEW
In 2019, Spears pulled the plug and followed companion Rhodes to AEW, the league he co-founded. He wasn’t a main character there either, but was repeatedly involved in major storylines as a supporting figure.
Spears renewed his feud with Rhodes at AEW, the “Chairman” (who got the nickname because he inflicted an unintentionally violent wound on Rhodes with a chair kick) was the sidekick of former AEW World Champion MJF, also promoted by Rhodes, for several years. Last year, Spears – married in real life to ex-WWE wrestler Peyton Royce – let his contract expire in order to start over.
After CM Punk and Andrade, Spears is the next AEW star to return to WWE in a matter of months. At NXT – now managed by WWE icon and Levesque buddy Shawn Michaels – he is likely to be used primarily to use his experience to introduce younger talent to the main roster.
Spears’ long history with Rhodes, however, would also provide points of contact that could prompt WWE to promote Spears himself again in the medium term – it would be a late rounding off of a career that has so far been rather incomplete
