Former AEW Star Returns To WWE

This ex-AEW man has officially returned to WWE.

by Andrew Pollard
Shawn Spears
WWE/AEW

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.

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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.

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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.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.