Shawn Spears parted ways with AEW at the top of the year. “The Chairman” had been a member of the All Elite roster since 2019, when he debuted at the company’s debut pay-per-view, Double Or Nothing. During his time with the AEW, he was most known for his feud with Cody Rhodes early on in the young promotion’s run. He was also part of MJF’s Pinnacle stable, which also included FTR and Tully Blanchard.
With Spears back on the pro wrestling market as a free agent, rumors have swirled about what his next move could be. Prior to his run with AEW, he performed for WWE for over a decade, most notably under the name Tye Dillinger in WWE NXT and on SmackDown. As part of his Dillinger presentation, he would regularly rate the skills of his opponents on a ten-point scale. When it came to rating his own work, he always gave himself a ten, which he flashed with all of his fingers.
Ahead of the WWE Royal Rumble this Saturday, Spears has taken to social media to tease a potentially dramatic return to the sports entertainment juggernaut.
Obviously, the implication is that he could be eyeing a WWE return at the Rumble, possibly as the tenth entrant. Worth noting, Fightful reports that Spears was backstage at this past weekend’s TNA tapings.
Earlier today, on Rumor & Innuendo, former WWE creative team member Robert Karpeles gave his thoughts on Spears potentially returning to the WWE fold.
“I’d love that,” he said. “Spears is a really talented guy. He’s a hell of a performer. He’s someone; he’s one of those guys I can see going into NXT like what they’ve done with Baron Corbin and just letting him work with the younger talent and really kind of show what he can do. He’s a great utility player across the board.”
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