Shawn Spears’ decision to leave WWE was a tough one for him not only because he was leaving the job security to explore the indie wrestling world but because his wife Peyton Royce still worked for the promotion at the time as well.
During a recent interview with Inside The Ropes, the former WWE star talked about a number of things and also explained the reasoning behind his decision to leave the promotion.
Spears first mentioned how there were a lot of things that could have kept him in WWE but he would have regretted not taking a shot at himself and that made him take the leap of faith.
Shawn Spears: It’s Not About The Money
“If I didn’t leave and take a shot on myself and see what I was at least capable of, in 30-40 years down the road, I was going to say I should have. I knew that that’s what I was going to do.
I was going to look back on this time and go, ‘Damn it, I should have took a shot on myself.’ And I’m a big believer in – the worst feeling in the world is probably regret. And there’s nothing… At a time where you can’t do anything about it.”
The chairman of AEW also said that it was not about the money or being in the main event. According to him, it boils down to waking up every day and being excited for the work.
Things worked out well for Shawn Spears in the end. He signed with AEW not long after leaving WWE where he has recently joined MJF’s Pinnacle stable.
AEW star and husband of former WWE Superstar Peyton Royce, Shawn Spears, recently spoke to Inside The Ropes. During the interview, the member of The Pinnacle discussed Peyton and her IIconics tag team partner Billie Kay potentially joining him in All Elite Wrestling.
“Obviously they [the fans] would assume that would be the plan that because I work there” Spears said during the interview. “Her [Peyton] husband works there, that it’s just, naturally she’s going to… Those questions are above my pay grade.”
“I don’t have anything to do with the hiring process” Shawn Spears continued, discussing the popular tag team unit and them potentially signing. “Selfishly, of course! Why would I not want my wife working there? Not only do I feel it’d be great to see her on a weekly basis with me, but what her and Jess can offer our women’s division and the entertainment world as a whole is just second to none.”
Shawn Spears on The IIconics
Shawn Spears then seemed to almost ‘pitch’ the duo, saying “you’ve seen how entertaining they are. I don’t need to explain to you what they bring to the table, and I don’t think I would need to explain to Tony Khan what they bring to the table either. That guy knows everything about every talent.”
With Billie Kay and Peyton Royce being almost shock releases from WWE a few weeks ago, there’s a good chance that they’re on the radar of many promotions. Whether we will see the duo end up in AEW remains to be seen, as IMPACT, NWA or even a return to Australia are all viable options.
AEW star Shawn Spears recently appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast. The former Tye Dillinger discussed a number of topics from his career; including his recent feud with Cody Rhodes and comparing his television time between AEW and his former home of WWE.
“It’s funny, you get nicknamed ‘The Chairman’ and then you hit a guy once with a chair and then you never touch anybody else with a chair since then!” Shawn Spears laughed. “The moniker is funny but, you know, to that point? That moment created a lot of traction, a lot of buzz both positively and negatively.”
Shawn Spears on ‘The Chair Shot’
The now infamous chair shot took place at Fyter Fest 2019. Shawn Spears appeared and lamped Cody Rhodes over the head; the chair shot was unprotected and it caused a lot of negative press for the upstart AEW promotion at the time.
“Here’s the thing with Cody, you know the history between us is pretty well documented. Qe go back a very very long way” Shawn Spears continued on the show.
“That guy is never going to half ass anything. No, if you put them on top of the cage? He’s going to Moonsault off. If you hit him in the head with a chair? I say ‘man look, get a hand up’ he’s going to go ‘No!’ He’s going to say ‘swing for the fences.'”
Cody Rhodes
Spears would elaborate further, saying “as performers? We have the same mentality, you’ll see him state a lot publicly, when he says that he’s going to outwork you. When he says he’s going to out dog you. When he says he’s going to outperform you? He means it. Whatever he may not understand is, I’m that guy too.”
Do you want to see the feud continue between Shawn Spears and Cody Rhodes? Let us know in the comments
AEW star Shawn Spears recently appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast. The former Tye Dillinger discussed a number of topics from his career, including his recent feud with Cody Rhodes and comparing his television time between AEW and his former home of WWE.
AEW had to hold a two day taping event at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown. Several talents were unable to appear due to travel issues, but Shawn Spears was one of the talent on hand to appear on Dynamite.
“I got a great deal of television time during the course of those two days” Shawn Spears began. “I think I made a joke on Twitter? Somebody said something about my career previously [in WWE], that I was barely on TV; and I actually went back and did some number crunching.”
Shawn Spears (formerly Tye Dillinger) then revealed a crazy statistic that sheds a light on his final few years in WWE. “In those two days over the course of two weeks of taping? I was on TV for more minutes than I had in my entire 2018 [for WWE]. Those opportunities are gonna pop up and when you have to go 20 minutes on television, because we’re short staffed or time gets added or for whatever reasons? You have to be ready to adapt and that’s the world of pro wrestling.”
Do you think that Shawn Spears is being better utilised in AEW than he was in WWE? Let us know in the comments
AEW star Shawn Spears recently appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast. The former Tye Dillinger discussed a number of topics from his career, including his recent feud with Cody Rhodes and ‘being a fan’ in attendance for the shows filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So the idea was Tony’s [Khan] actually the night before television” Shawn Spears revealed, discussing how he and MJF were asked to be ‘fans’ for the shows. “He called me and we talked for about 20 minutes. He [Tony Khan] said ‘I have this idea, I want to put you and MJF in the crowd. And I kind of just want to give you guys free rein to go out and do what you guys want to do.'”
Shawn Spears and MJF
“I thought that was a hilarious concept” Spears would then reveal. “And you pretty much can’t ask for a better charismatic dance partner than MJF. So when they kind of put us out there? They just said, ‘yeah, do whatever you want, have some fun.’ I’m like well, can I eat food while I’m out there? I’ll be hungry. They’re like ‘yeah go ahead and MJF’s like ‘can I have a glass of wine?’ That was a bad idea, well for him cause he’s a lightweight.”
Shawn Spears would then discuss the importance of being given that time to showcase his character on AEW television. “I tell this to some young talent, being out there as an audience member is an opportunity in itself. You might not get that television time in the ring, performing, or you might not get that promo time backstage in a segment, or live mic in the ring.”
Spears elaborated further, saying “that in itself? Being an audience member is an opportunity, the camera is going to catch you. I said it recently to a few other talents. I said, we’re out in the crowd I think was a couple weeks ago I said ‘I dare you to steal the camera from me, I dare you. If you can do it? Then I’m not doing a good job, and I think that’s when I tailgated on the back of a golf cart. So it’s just finding different ways to stand out, show some personality without taking away from the actual in-ring product.”
Have you enjoyed AEW’s presentation during the coronavirus pandemic? Let us know in the comments
Tully Blanchard is not satisfied with protégé Shawn Spears’ lack of ambition. A video was released on Monday featuring the Four Horsemen legend mercilessly berating him.
Blanchard took Spears under his wing last summer. Spears has had mixed success. His AEW record is 5-8 this year. In recent months, Spears has been conducting a search to find the perfect tag team partner. The search was fruitless.
Blanchard says the search is over and they are moving on. “What I’ve seen in the last couple of months, Shawn, has changed my thought process,” said Blanchard. He thought they had synergy and thought the same way.
Things took a weird turn for this duo last weekend at AEW Double or Nothing. Spears wrestled to Dustin Rhodes. He lost the match, but that wasn’t the worst part. During the bout, Spears’ pants were ripped off to reveal a photo of Tully Blanchard’s face on the crotch. Blanchard was watching the PPV at home with friends. Awkward!
Blanchard screamed, “In what freakin’ world did you think that was funny? That’s not what my legacy is going to be Shawn, I promise you that!” He challenged Spears to reach deep inside himself, dig something out of his heart and think about the legacy he wants to leave.
Watch Tully Blanchard prove he is still one of the best talkers in all of professional wrestling in the video below:
FTR Takes Notice
AEW newcomers FTR liked what they saw. Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood tweeted a response. Wheeler said Spears is ‘so good’ but “just needs a little help.” Harwood wants to see more of this on AEW Dynamite.
Shawn Spears defeated a wrestler named Baron Black last night on Dynamite. After delivering the C4 (a running Death Valley Driver) Spears locked in a Sharpshooter and got the submission victory.
After the show, Spears posted on Twitter that he texted Bret Hart and asked him if he could use the move. According to Spears, Hart gave him his blessing to use the move.
For those commenting:
A while back, I sent a text to @BretHart asking a question.
He told me: “Go for it, it works”
Tonight as @IAmJericho mentioned, I paid tribute to a Canadian ICON by winning via the #Sharpshooter
It just makes sense. Mine now.#LoveYouBret @AEWrestling
Before the global pandemic hit, Shawn Spears and Tully Blanchard were on the search for a tag-team partner for Spears. They hadn’t had much luck in finding one, however. Following the pandemic, Spears has wrestled several times on AEW programming.
Spears is 4-1 in single’s bouts dating back to the start of the empty arena shows. He’s defeated Shawn Dean, Billy Gunn, Justin Law, and Baron Black in that time. His loss was to Cody in the 1st round of the TNT title tournament. The week before, Spears teamed with the Inner Circle’s Sammy Guevara and earned a victory over Cody and Darby Allin.
In total, Spears is 5-7 in 2020 and has a 9-12 career record with AEW.
AEW star Shawn Spears recently gave an interview to Chris Van Vliet where he talked about things like his infamous chair shot to Cody Rhodes at Fyter Fest, whether the chair was gimmicked and more.
During the interview, the former NXT star was asked what is the biggest difference in AEW compared to his time in WWE when it comes to the day to day stuff.
Answering the question, Spears explained that the biggest difference is that the talents are very relaxed at AEW shows and the locker rooms are almost empty during the day because people are excited to wrestle:
“The biggest difference is that it’s very relaxed,” explained Shawn. “A lot of the talent is out by the ring, the locker rooms are almost empty during the day. Like people are having fun, they are excited to wrestle.
I don’t know how it is in the WWE or NXT at the moment but there was a time when I was still in WWE where a lot of the people would stay in the locker room until they had to go and do their matches cause they would try to avoid certain other aspects of the company or other people of the company.” (Transcription: SEScoops.com)
Spears continued by acknowledging that they are still a new company and they still need to iron out some things. But the All Elite Wrestling star said that everyone at the promotion is really enjoying themselves.
Apart from this, Shawn Spears recalled how he was petrified when he originally decided to leave WWE and revealed how his pairing with Tully Blanchard came about. You can check out his full interview in the video below:
All Elite Wrestling’s resident “Chairman” Shawn Spears has opened up about his nasty chair shot to Cody Rhodes and embracing the Chairman character. Speaking on The Chris Van Vliet Show, Spears recounted swinging the chair at Cody, not knowing the damage his attack had caused until he saw the blood.
“I swang [sic] for the fences, he leaned in, and just that one little bit caught him. I didn’t know he was bleeding,” Spears confessed. “That’s because I kinda had a moment with Brandi [Rhodes], where I looked at her and kinda had a staredown with her. And I looked at him to get that one more shot and I saw the red and I was like, ’S&*%’”
He argued that, as far as their storyline was concerned, it was a “best case scenario.” Spears noted how, regardless of that, he didn’t want to be responsible for his friend needing 10 stitches in his head. “But it is wrestling, things happen, I’m pretty sure I’ll be on the tail end of a bad shot at some point.”
Shawn Spears Becomes “The Chairman”
Shawn Spears reflected on how that one chair shot, and the subsequent damage it caused, helped to put him on the map in AEW. It turned him from a “happy-go-lucky ‘Perfect 10’” wrestler into a monster villain against Cody’s babyface, birthing “The Chairman.”
“[…] that’s where ‘The Chairman’ thing was born, so I just kinda kept it, ran with it, and have yet hit someone in the head once again, so it’s a moniker, it’s a tagline that hangs with me for the moment. In terms of what’s gonna happen, I might swing it again soon.”
He shared how he’s much happier now than he was just one year ago. Spears highlighted how it wasn’t WWE itself that was behind his unhappiness: “It was just, I wasn’t happy being where I was there. So I needed to take ownership. They can’t change to work around you, you need to take ownership of your own situation.”
Conceding how many are afraid to take that first step in leaving and embracing the unknown, Spears reiterated how taking the gamble has led him to be much happier despite the fact he was “petrified to leave” at the time.
At the time of writing, White has not yet responded to Shawn Spears’ message. Given that he has been preoccupied with New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 14 event, however, that’s no surprise.
White’s Wrestle Kingdom Experience
White was unable to defend his IWGP Intercontinental Championship this past weekend. He competed in a losing effort against Los Ingobernables de Japon leader Tetsuya Naito during Night One of Wrestle Kingdom on Saturday.
Spears’ most recent feud in AEW has been against “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela. They recently competed against each other on an episode of the promotion’s YouTube show, AEW Dark.
Spears came up short in the match, with Janela picking up the victory following a top rope elbow drop. After the match, the two shared a couple of White Claws in the ring, only for Janela to deliver a Stunner to Spears.
On this week’s episode of Dynamite, Shawn Spears was involved in a triple threat match against Darby Allin and “the Librarian” Peter Avalon. During the match, Spears’ opponent from Full Gear, Joey Janela, came down to the ring and dragged Spears away from the match.
Afterward, both Spears and his manager Tully Blanchard were interviewed in the back and sent a message to Janela.
“I’m rarely speechless and I’m almost that way right now,” said Blanchard in the video. “You take a guy out at Full Gear and it’s over with, it’s done! Move on to the next chapter of your life or your career. Shawn is moving up the ladder and that’s where it’s at. You keep sticking your nose in and there’s a lot of people tried to stick their nose in over my lifetime but it never paid off and Shawn you will take him down like never before.”
The full interview can be viewed in the Instagram post below:
Before AEW Dynamite launched on TNT, Spears spoke to Muscle and Fitness magazine about what fans can expect from the new show.
“We are gonna do our thing on Wednesday nights, we’re gonna tear it up and if you watch, fantastic, we think you are in for one hell of a treat, and if you don’t watch, you are missing one hell of a show, it is really that simple,” Spears said.
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) wrestler Shawn Spears has shared his thoughts on AEW’s TNT show going head-to-head with NXT on Wednesday nights.
In an interview with MuscleAndFitness.com, Spears stated that no matter who is involved or whatever the time slot is, “everyone is going to be motivated regardless.”
“We are gonna do our thing on Wednesday nights, we’re gonna tear it up and if you watch, fantastic, we think you are in for one hell of a treat, and if you don’t watch, you are missing one hell of a show, it is really that simple,” Spears said.
He stressed that the most important thing AEW and WWE will provide wrestlings fans is an alternative—something he believes will benefit the audience.
“Not just the audience of AEW, or WWE, or Impact, or Ring of Honor, it benefits the everyday casual wrestling fan,” he explained. “You now have another option. I can’t speak for everybody, but we are not looking at it as a head-to-head competition, where we need to knock these guys out of the water, we are going to go out there and do our thing.”
All Elite Wrestling’s television show debuts on TNT on October 2nd. NXT will air on USA Network a few weeks prior on September 18th.
Muscle and Fitness has a good article on current AEW and former WWE star Shawn Spears.
During the interview, he reflected on his run with WWE and getting to a better place in his career by signing with AEW. He started out by stating that he takes great pride in the ability to work with anybody whether that’s a brand-new talent or someone who has been in wrestling for years.
He noted that he also takes pride in being able to cover the spectrum when it comes down to match preparation and execution.
“But that can also pigeonhole you, and I was pigeonholed for quite a long time. On one hand, I was very reliable when they (WWE) needed something done. I was there and I got it done, but at the same time I couldn’t break through the glass ceiling that seemed to be placed over my head. Now, that has changed.”
Spears stated that he has taken his career into his own hands and given an opportunity to be in AEW. He noted that there is no more of saying that he was held back or blaming it on creative.
Instead, he wants everything to be left on his shoulders. He added that when he gets older he can look back and say that he did it his way on his terms.
It was announced back in late February by the WWE that they had granted his release from the company.
This came after he put out a lengthy statement announcing that he had asked to be released from his contract.
Cody Rhodes got his hands on Shawn Spears where he was able to get his revenge.
The AEW Executive Vice President did so at the All Out event in at the Sears Centre in Chicago, IL that aired on pay-per-view. Tully Blanchard was in the corner of Spears for the match as his manager. MJF was in the corner of Rhodes.
Prior to the match, DDP walked out with Rhodes. In the middle of the match to even the odds, Arn Anderson hit a spinebuster to Spears.
The promotion confirmed the match on an episode of The Road To All Out. The feud was set up at the Fyter Fest event in June where Rhodes went to a draw with Darby Allin.
Post-match, Spears, formerly known as Tye Dillinger, hit Rhodes in the head with a steel chair with Rhodes turning his head and didn’t put up his hands.
Rhodes was bleeding pretty good from the back of his head. It was an accident as the chair was supposed to be gimmicked but went wrong.
Shawn Spears contracted Tully Blanchard for his guidance ahead of his grudge match against Cody Rhodes. The two will clash at tonight’s All Elite Wrestling (AEW) event, All Out.
Speaking to the media during Starrcast III, Blanchard revealed that, despite being away from pro wrestling, he still has undeniable knowledge to share.
Looking back on how he first became associated with Spears, Blanchard said:
“He contacted me, and then I talked to Arn a little bit about it, […] Arn said all the right, positive things, and then Shawn and I had a couple of conversations and then we did the interview thing with J.R. [Jim Ross] down in Jacksonville at the stadium, and you know, sometimes you just gotta keep your mouth shut, and let actions speak louder than words.”
“He Can Raise Up And Take His Game To A Whole New Level”
When asked about the kind of advice he has been imparting to Spears, Blanchard stated that you’ve got to live in the moment.
“I mean that’s the thing, you’ve got to embrace it. I know that Shawn’s had a lot of things going on in his life, and I haven’t had a lot of contact with him in the last couple of weeks, and it’s a little bit disappointing, but the few texts and stuff that we’ve had have been good, so I’m sure that he’s in a good mental place,” Blachard confessed.
“I think he’s got enough experience, I think he can raise up and take his game to a whole new level, and that’s what I’m looking for.”
He was asked over which AEW talent he is excited about besides Shawn Spears. Blanchard admitted that he hasn’t watched a lot of wrestling over the past 30 years, but is looking forward to All Out to find out the answer for himself.
It’s a huge week for Shawn Spears. In addition to marrying the love of his life, the biggest match of his pro wrestling career takes place this coming weekend. He’ll wrestle Cody Rhodes at AEW All Out Saturday night from Chicago, IL.
Peyton Royce and Shawn Spears are not the only inter-promotional couple. Many fans are aware NXT Champion Adam Cole and AEW star Dr. Britt Baker are also an item.
SEScoops extends our warmest congratulations and good luck wishes to Peyton Royce and Shawn Spears!
Last night in Ottawa, C4 Wrestling brought in several big stars for an event to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society. Cody and Maxwell Jacob Friedman were both at the show which led Shawn Spears to make an unadvertised appearance as well.
Spears attacked MJF as he was leaving the ring area and then he and Cody brawled inside the ring. As Spears was about to hit Cody with a chair, however, MJF came back and prevented the attack.
Spears posted video of his attack to his social media accounts.
Spears took part in a sit down interview with Jim Ross following Fyter Fest and talked about his past with Cody and revealed his new alignment with Tully Blanchard.
“He’s a leach,” Spears said of Cody when asked about their time together in OVW. “It started in OVW, it started with me.”
“When that ran its course, he moved on to bigger and better things,” Spears continued. “Bob Holly, Ted Dibiase Jr, Damien Sandow, where are those guys now?”
Another match has been announced for the second episode of AEW’s weekly television show.
The promotion has confirmed that Jon Moxley will take on Shawn Spears in a singles match. More matches for this show will be announced in the coming weeks.
This show takes place in Boston, MA on October 9 at the Agganis Arena. Tickets are slated to go on sale this Friday, August 16th at Noon ET / 9am PT. Prices range from $20-90.
AEW TV will air live on TNT on Wednesdays from 8-10 p.m. Eastern time. You can see the announcement here:
All Elite Wrestling has already confirmed The Young Bucks vs. Private Party for the episode. It will be a first-round match in AEW’s Tag Team Title tournament.
The AEW All Out pay-per-view event will take place on Saturday, August 31st at the Sears Centre in Chicago, IL and has already sold out. Both Moxley and Spears have their matches booked.
Moxley is slated to take on Kenny Omega while Spears will take on Cody Rhodes.
AEW’s first TNT show will take place on Wednesday, October 2 from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. The third show on TNT will take place in Philadelphia on October 16 at the Liacouras Center.
As expected, All Elite Wrestling has confirmed that Cody Rhodes will battle Shawn Spears at the upcoming All Out pay-per-view event.
The promotion confirmed the news in the latest episode of The Road To All Out. Tully Blanchard will be in the corner of Spears for the match as his manager.
Bully Ray had issues with this past Monday’s RAW Reunion special. He claimed that WWE didn’t utilize the returning Legends in order to help their younger, current roster. The only exception was Mick Foley’s segment with Bray Wyatt.
On a recent episode of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray spoke about what All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has done to develop its crop of new talent into stars, highlighting Shawn Spears’ heel turn.
“One chair shot, all of a sudden Shawn Spears is on the tip of our tongues, right?” he said. “What do I always say is the most important? The follow-up. What was the follow-up with Spears? It was [the interview with] J.R. Tully [Blanchard] was the icing on the cake. The physicality with the chair shot gets everyone talking about Spears.”
“That, my friends, is called the rub. He got the rub by being in there with Cody, because Cody is the Dusty of AEW. He got the rub from J.R. because sitting down with J.R. in a one-on-one interview is prestigious,” he explained.
“If J.R. is giving you that time—and if you notice, J.R. laid out a lot. He didn’t really challenge Shawn Spears, he took him at face value. Then at the end, just when you thought it was all over, wham, Tully freakin’ Blanchard. How do you not look at Shawn Spears as a star right now?”
Shawn Spears (formerly known as WWE’s Tye Dillinger) is scheduled to face off against Cody at AEW’s All Out event on August 31st.
AEW’s Shawn Spears might be flanked by a manager in the near future. The 38-year-old picked up his first victory in the promotion at Fight for the Fallen on Saturday. Spears got the pin for his team in a 6-man tag, pinning Darby Allin after a Death Valley Driver.
According to a report from Fightful, Spears could be paired with a manager as part of his act shortly. The report continued to say that this could be revealed as early as the episode of the “Road To All Out” scheduled to air on YouTube today. Spears is scheduled to take part in a sit-down interview with Jim Ross as part of the episode.
Although nothing official has been announced, Spears could end up facing Cody at AEW’s next PPV. Spears and Cody are former tag-team partners in Ohio Valley Wrestling together, where they were both part of WWE developmental. We will likely find out more about Spears’ motivation for hitting Cody with a chair at Fyter Fest during his interview with Ross.
Spears has had 2 official matches in AEW thus far. He participated in the Casino Battle Royale at Double or Nothing in Las Vegas. Then after his chairshot to Cody at Fyter Fest, he teamed with Cody’s protege MJF and Sammy Guevara in winning fashion against Joey Janela, Jimmy Havoc, and Darby Allin.
As Shawn Spears was being ejected from the building at Fyter Fest, he was heard saying if AEW wants an explanation, they could send Jim Ross. He would later follow up the request with a Tweet.
Speaking of “vulnerable”…
He bled exactly how I thought he would….easily.
Now if @AEWrestling feels they are owed any kind of explanation, they can send good ol Jim Ross for a nice little sit down…
The promotion has since announced that Ross has agreed to interview Spears. The interview will be the first episode of “the Road to All Out” which airs on YouTube.
The next event for AEW will be July 13th’s Fight for the Fallen from Jacksonville. Following the charity event, AEW will not present another show until August 31st’s All Out from Chicago’s Sears Center.
Spears is scheduled to team with MJF and Sammy Guevara against Jimmy Havoc, Joey Janela, and Darb Allin at Fight for the Fallen.
Shawn Spears Attack on Cody
Following his attack on Cody at Fyter Fest, Spears has posted the following to social media:
All Elite Wrestling has added a new match to their upcoming Fight for the Fallen card. The event will take place from Jacksonville, Florida on July 13th, 2019. AEW announced that MJF, Sammy Guevara, and Shawn Spears will team up to go against Darby Allin, Jimmy Havoc, and Joey Janela.
MJF does not appear happy he will be teaming with the man who split-open Cody at Fyter Fest with a chair shot.
We’ve yet to hear from the former Tye Dillinger as to why he attacked Cody at Fyter Fest. Spears and Cody had been tag team partners together in OVW, having won the OVW Southern tag team titles together twice.
Spears insinuated on Twitter that he’ll reveal why he attacked Cody if he is interviewed by Jim Ross.
Speaking of “vulnerable”…
He bled exactly how I thought he would….easily.
Now if @AEWrestling feels they are owed any kind of explanation, they can send good ol Jim Ross for a nice little sit down…
Last night at AEW Fyter Fest, Cody took a chair shot to the head delivered by Shawn Spears. Cody and Darby Allin had just wrestled to a 20-minute draw when Spears appeared in the ring and delivered the blow. After the match, AEW would later Tweet that it took 12 staples to close the wound but Cody did not suffer a concussion.
In a post-event media scrum, AEW President Tony Khan explained that the chairshot to the head was a mistake.
“We called the doctor immediately, it was obviously really regrettable what happened,” Khan said. “I don’t know if this is the time to go into what happened but we had taken precautions in this situation – in that specific situation. A doctor was available and Cody does not have a concussion, he has staples, and we’re all very grateful for that.”
Please leave me alone at this time. I’m grieving over what has happened to my best friend/mentor Cody Rhodes.
During his post-event media scrum, Nick Jackson insinuated the chairshot was not as unprotected as it perhaps appeared.
“You think it was unprotected,” Nick said. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
Tony Khan On Differences Between TV and Streaming Show
Khan would also stress that such violence won’t be apart of AEW TV when it begins in the fall.
“No, definitely not. This was not TV, it was a streaming show,” Khan said when asked if the hardcore wrestling at Fyter Fest would be part of AEW TV in the fall. “It was effectively a PPV in a lot of the world. In the US, it was presented free, but this was a PPV. You can expect different rules for PPV and we said going in these are non-sanctioned hardcore matches.”
“We wouldn’t have offered that on TNT, a 100% no,” Khan stressed.
Khan also addressed time limits, issues related to production, and more:
Former WWE Superstar Tye Dillinger (Shawn Spears) recently sat down with entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet for an hour-long interview covering a wide range of topics. Spears discussed leaving WWE after turning down a big pay raise, how his departure affects his fiancé Peyton Royce, opening a new wrestling school with Tyler Breeze and much more.
Head over to Chris Van Vliet’s Youtube Channel for more of his recent interviews with Matt Morgan, Ryback, MJF, Joey Janela, Cody Rhodes and many more. Highlights from the discussion with Shawn Spears are below:
Why WWE Granted His Request To Be Released
Several WWE Superstars have reportedly asked to be released this year, but few were allowed to leave. Spears is not sure why WWE allowed him to go, but he thinks his eight years with the company might have garnered him some respect from management. His tweet back in February announcing that he requested his release also gave him additional leverage.
“I was with them for eight and a half years total including my first time around,” he said” “I did things right, I never got into any trouble. I was professional and I carried myself well and always did what I was asked to do. So that was one thing, the other thing is that statement that I put out later that evening on February 19th kind of handcuffed them a little bit. If they would have kept me, that might have made a lot of people unhappy. If they would have kept me and utilized me in a negative way or have me get killed on TV every week that would have made people upset. I think it put me in the best position possible to get what I was looking for. And the third possible reason is maybe they didn’t see anything in me and they go ‘You know what? We don’t see any value. It is time to go, so go ahead and to be honest with you I really hope it’s that one. I really, really do because that just fuels a little more fire.”
His 90-day non-compete with WWE ending the day before Double or Nothing:
Spears took part in the AEW: Double or Nothing pre-show battle royal. As it turns out, his non-compete clause with WWE expired the day before the pay-per-view.
“I asked for my release on my birthday, February 19th. I was verbally granted it on the Friday which was the 22nd or something but I needed the paperwork officially and I didn’t get that until the following week. Had they waited an extra 24 hours I would not have been able to do Double or Nothing so I think WWE was being gracious. They knew what was going on. I think they allowed me to be out at that time to do whatever I wanted to do including Double or Nothing. I could be completely wrong and it might have slipped their minds, I don’t know but I like to think that I had earned that mutual respect.”
If his WWE departure will affect Peyton Royce’s WWE career:
“When I first brought it up she was open to speaking about it and talking about it and we did on numerous occasions and then finally she could see that nothing was changing and nothing was getting better.”
“My mentality in terms of bringing my work home with me wasn’t getting any better and eventually she said to me, ‘Look, I need you happy and I don’t care how that is, I don’t care where that is. I just know that going forward for the rest of our lives, for our future children and for our household now I need you happy. So whatever it is that you need to do to make yourself happy, I am with you 100%. Wherever you go I am with you 100%.'”
“She has my back. And when you find someone like that, put a ring on it. Lock it down. She has been my upmost number one supporter and my number one fan and my best friend through all of this.”
Spears also discussed turning down a “substantial” raise from WWE before leaving. He said by the end of his WWE run, money was not going to make him happy. He didn’t want to stay with the company and be full of regret. To him, the most important things are being a good person, being a good father and living a life worth living. He wants to live on his own terms.
In a situation that sounds a lot like Jon Moxley’s WWE departure, Spears said WWE told him he’d be getting a “substantial raise” if he stayed, but did not want to see what that actual number was. His decision was made at that point and the pay increase was not going to fix what he was unhappy about.
There’s much more to this interview, which you can (and should) check out here:
