The former Tye Dillinger made his return to WWE appearing on NXT as Shawn Spears and has recently discussed the name choice.
Dillinger requested his release from WWE in February 2019 and would go on to appear in AEW under the name Shawn Spears at Double or Nothing in May that year, a name that he had used on the independent circuit.
He would return to WWE in February 2024 having departed AEW in December 2023, bringing with him his Spears name.
Speaking to Fightful, Spears revealed the reasoning behind not going back to his former WWE name, saying:
“It was discussed. Preference wise, I was asked, ‘Hey, what would you prefer?’ I immediately felt that Shawn Spears was the best way to go.
“Then speaking with Shawn Michaels, he enjoyed the presentation of Shawn Spears. He enjoyed what I brought to the table in that aspect. He said, ‘How can we make this work?’ We were able to filter it up the ladder a little bit and we were able to make it all work.
“The good news is I have the rights to majority that I present. Whether that be name, music, logos. I have the rights to all of that. So I presented it as all possibilities and luckily enough, and thankfully enough, we were able to keep the same concept of what I was working with.”
Spears would then go on to discuss the changes in presentation that he is bringing to WWE NXT, adding:
“Now it was just about adding in a few more elements and trying to compound the character that I’ve already been trying to filter out.
“I am a big character guy. I love characters. I grew up on the Rick Martels and the Rick Rudes and the Mr. Perfects. I love that stuff. So I will always be a character based driven professional wrestler.
“I love the entrances. That’s something I stole from Triple H. Go back and watch all his entrances from WrestleManias. They’re all awesome. They’re all little movies. I tell a lot of talent, ‘It’s the only time that everybody’s looking at you. So why not put all the effort you can into that entrance?’ So I’m always going to look for that entertainment aspect and all of that.
“So, yeah, I get long winded and I get excited when we start talking, but hopefully that kind of answers your question a little bit.”
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