10! 10! 10! 10 Things You Didn't Know About Tye Dillinger
2. The Origins Of 'Perfect 10'
After years and years (and years) in the system with little character development beyond a name change from 'Shawn' to 'Gavin', the 'Perfect 10' persona was finally the image makeover required to take the ultra-talented Dillinger from the gutter to the stars.
Nearly a decade after being released from the WWE system the first time around, Dillinger was almost back where he started despite the renewed vigour and vim amongst talent following the OVW and FCW migration into an NXT model gathering huge steam.
Dillinger explained in an interview that it was a conversation with friends outside the industry that helped him land on the character.
Describing how frustrating it was to be constantly overlooked despite a battle-hardened belief in his own talents, he noted that nobody in WWE was a '10' as he believed he could be. A friend responded simply that 'there should be', and left the room.
The idea stuck with Tye, who developed the persona further with his fellow Performance Centre prospects and coaches before having the idea approved and finally nailing down his winning gimmick.