Former AEW Star Returns To WWE

As seen on last night's NXT, Shawn Spears is back under the WWE banner.

Spears' return saw him interrupt a Ridge Holland promo and lay out the powerhouse with a steel chair, with it revealed that the former AEW man was the person behind NXT's cryptic Three Faces video packages.

The Canadian veteran previously spent two spells with WWE, initially signing with the company in 2006. That stint would last for three years and see him work as Shawn Spears for Ohio Valley Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling, before moving to the ECW brand as Gavin Spears. That run would come to an end in 2009, but Spears would be brought back in 2013 as part of the NXT brand, where he took on the mantle of Tye Dillinger. As the Perfect 10, Dillinger became one of the most popular acts in NXT, although a lot of that momentum was lost once he moved to the WWE main roster in 2017 - culminating in him requesting, and being granted, his release in 2019.

After departing WWE for a second time, Shawn Spears landed in the burgeoning AEW later that same year. The Chairman's time being #AllElite came to an end at the turn of the year, with him believed to have been let out of his contract on or around 1 January 2024.

Interestingly, this latest WWE return sees the talent once again referred to by his Shawn Spears moniker rather than his Tye Dillinger one, and if this week's NXT is anything to go by, he may also have brought that Chairman gimmick with him.

As for this return, Fightful Select notes how few within NXT were aware that Spears would be returning, with him not listed on any internal documents, him being hidden backstage, and Shawn Michaels playing the unnamed Spears role in rehearsals opposite Ridge Holland.