After weeks of watching cryptic video packages on NXT that could have signaled the debuts of anyone from Tama Tonga to NXT's Kevin O'Conner Kazuchika Okada, fans across the IWC were surprised to see the developmental debut of Shawn Spears, the former “Chairman of AEW” who had worked for the promotion previously as the “Perfect 10” Tye Dillinger.
While it was common knowledge that Spears had left AEW, as his contract came to an end at the end of 2023, few expected to see the 43-year-old back in NXT, especially with his moniker and presentation largely kept intact from his time in Tony Khan's company.
Certainly there had to be a story there, right? Well, as it turns out, there was, and the fine folks at Fightful decided to ask Spears that very question in a tell-all interview.
“It's very important to me. I am somebody who, for whatever anybody wants to say about me throughout the course of 20+ years that I've been doing this, one thing that's gonna be hard for them to say is that I have been unprofessional. I'm a very big believer that in ‘Professional wrestler,' that word ‘Professional' is paramount. It's key. It's almost more important to me than the second word that comes into play,” Shawn Spears told Fightful.
“It was amicable. Absolutely. As was me leaving WWE in 2019. Again, I like to think that over the years I have accumulated a level of respect from my peers, from the people that employed me. There's obviously a two-way street there with a great deal of respect. So having things like that will prevent things from being nasty. They don't need to get to that point. It was just a time that I felt it was best for me, best for my family and as difficult as some decisions are sometimes, it's nice to know that mutual respect can allow things to go smoothly. Much more smoothly than they may.”
Alright, so not the most salacious gossip you could imagine, but an interesting development none the less. Still, it isn't the only question worth asking, as Spear's decision to go to NXT was far from expected either, as you don't normally have 43-years-olds just trying to catch on in WWE's developmental system 25 years into their professional wrestling careers. Fortunately, Spears commented on that too, and the answer is equally as interesting.
Shawn Spears reveals why he signed with NXT.
Turning his attention from his AEW past to his WWE future, Shawn Spears then reflected on why he decided to not only return to the company that made him an internationally known Superstar but opted to do so as an unconventional member of their developmental system.
Did Spears have no other options? Or did he actually want to pursue a chance to work in NXT as a natural extension of his work at his wrestling school, Flatbacks Wrestling? Fortunately, Spears commented on that too, and considering where his life is at the moment, it seems like he made the right choice for him.
“It was important to me to be able to come back to this company. That was the first big question, of whether or not it was a possibility. Once the possibility was a definite possibility then it became about, what is the best course of action to take going forward? Let's be honest, let's be clear as day. I'm not gonna tell you guys anything you don't already know. WWE's on fire across the board. The numbers have never been better and I don't know all the numbers. Don't get me wrong. I don't know all the numbers. But what I do know of them is that we're smashing record after record. The attendance is going through the roof, merchandise is off the charts. That wheel that we talked about is spinning faster and stronger than ever. So to be able to come back into that and be a spoke on that wheel again and be able to contribute in anyway that I can is massive,” Shawn Spears told Fightful.
“Once the opportunity came to come to NXT, I jumped all over it. There's gonna be people watching this right now that are saying, ‘Why wouldn't you want to go to RAW? Why wouldn't you want to go to Smackdown?' NXT is also killing it. I've been here for a couple weeks now, and I have seen talent that has blown me away. What I love about that is that it takes me back to when I first started training or reminds me of my time here in the Performance Center being in the spot that they're in right now, knowing where they're going to have the possibility to go, the things they're gonna go through. I'm able to help guide in that sense, too, with my time here at the Performance Center.
“My responsibilities in WWE are a little more than just in the ring. That is something that I don't take likely and something I am massively interested in. At the end of the day, what it boils down to after a conversation with my wife, I get to wake up every morning and see my son and play with him and do whatever I need to do, and then I get to be home in my bed every night, sleeping beside my wife. So in the middle of that, the in-between that, if I get to go hang out and learn from the Shawn Michaels of our world or the Matt Blooms or I get to be a big kid in between those very important things, and I get to do that every day. Tell me how I made the wrong call. Tell me how I made a bad decision there, man.”
In professional wrestling, every performer's path isn't the same; some want to become the face of a company like Cody Rhodes, some really don't want to be a champion like Bryan Danielson, and others still want to find a long-term home where they can have a career once their in-ring efforts come to an end. For Spears, it looks like being able to stay close to his family, learn from the best, and pass on his own knowledge to the next generation of Superstars is his preferred path, and he found that in NXT.
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