Shawn Spears Talks Leaving AEW, Joining WWE, More (Patreon)

Fightful Select caught up with one of WWE’s newest free-agent acquisitions, NXT Superstar Shawn Spears, for an exclusive interview. Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp and Spears had a lengthy conversation, and here are our notes from it. Also, Sean Ross Sapp will be referred to as SRS for clarity.

Shawn Spears confirmed his departure from All Elite Wrestling was an amicable split. He said being professional in his career is necessary because it would be hard for anyone to say he has not been. Spears added that he is a big believer in the word “professional wrestler.” Spears said the word “professional” is paramount to him compared to the second word “wrestler.”

He said leaving AEW was the same as when he left the WWE in 2019, “amicable.” Spears said, “Having things like that will prevent things from getting nasty. They don’t need to get that to that point.”

The twenty-plus-year veteran told Fightful his reasoning for leaving AEW was because he believed it was best for him and his family. Shawn told SRS that returning [to WWE] was important to him. Spears said once the opportunity came for him to go to NXT, he jumped all over it.

Shawn mentioned that the WWE is on fire right now. He said, “I'm not going to tell you something you guys already know. The WWE is on fire across the board. The numbers have never been better.” Spears would add that they are smashing record after record, attendance is high, and merchandise sales are high.

He would explain his reasoning for being in NXT. He said people who watch the interview will say, “Why wouldn’t you want to go to Raw? Why would you not want to go SmackDown? Shawn added, “NXT is also killing it.”  Spears said he’s been back for a few weeks, and the talent has blown him away. He said, “[What] I love about that is that it takes me back to when I first started training or it reminds me of my time here in the performance center.”

Spears told Fightful he has more responsibilities than being just an in-ring performer in NXT and does not take it lightly. He also told us when it came to deciding about returning to NXT, it came down to getting to wake up every morning to see his son and do the things he needs to do and getting to be home every night sleeping beside his wife [Cassie Lee, F.K.A. Peyton Royce of The IICONICS in the WWE]. He also said that he gets to hang out and learn from Shawn Michaels and Matt Bloom in the middle of all of it.

SRS asked Shawn about the process of getting back into the WWE. SRS mentioned how Jade Cargill and Lexis King [Brian Pillman Jr.] recently came over as a free agent from AEW to NXT. Spears said he believes it comes back to respect and mutual respect. He said he still had friends within the company and kept in touch with them.

When word came out that he was leaving AEW, Spears said people were offering a helping hand. He said it came down to conversing with his wife and weighing his options. He said he reached out, and the possibility was there for him. SRS mentioned that a year ago, WWE was in a hiring freeze and that not too long ago, this might not have been an option.

Spears agreed and said the WWE is ever-evolving and moves fast. He said things change, and the business takes precedence. He noted that if there is an opportunity to get a star like Cody Rhodes or Jade Cargill, you’ll get them; it's just good business. Shawn mentioned Lexis King and said there is a big difference between Lexis King now and Brian Pillman Jr., which you've seen before. Spears said the WWE has a wonderful history of making superstars.

He would tell SRS about the night he returned and said it came about rather quickly. He said he was happy about it because they kept things pretty quiet. Shawn would tell Fightful that we [Wrestlers] know how the world works now, and everyone wants to be the first to reveal information. Shawn said he kept everything close to the chest. He did not tell many friends or many close friends about his return.

He said he told his wife but told her not to tell her friends and mentioned he did not even tell his family.

Spears said the only people who knew were Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and certain members of Michaels in Orlando. He said talent had zero idea, and most coaching staff did not know he was returning. Spears also said he was kept in a room for most of the day.

He told SRS that they kept things as tight-lipped as possible. He said he gets excited when someone shows up out of the blue. Spears also praised Shawn Michaels, Matt Bloom, and head NXT writer Johnny Russo for setting it all up. He said they kept things quiet for at least a month.

SRS mentioned Shawn’s business partner, former WWE Superstar Tyler Breeze, a co-owner of their training school “Flatbacks,” will sometimes fill in at the WWE PC. SRS mentioned that we have not heard if Spears has a wrestler/coach role within the company. Spears replied, my responsibilities are beyond the ring aspect. Spears added that he wants to learn as much as possible to segue into a different position within the company at any level. He believes there are some things he needs to complete and wants to hit a certain level that he did not hit during his previous tenure.

Spears said “The Perfect 10” was a fond memory, and he spoke about debuting at number ten during the 2017 Men’s Royal Rumble. He said that as the clock was counting down, he was in Gorilla with friends, and they began clapping for him. He said he still gets emotional thinking about it because of the validation he received from his peers' that night.

SRS asked if the company had any plans for him to return in this year's Royal Rumble at Tropicana Field. Spears said, “All I can say about that is that I shot my shot.”

Fightful asked Shawn about his school, “Flatbacks,” and the feeling he gets when he sees a student get a booking for a notable show. Spears said, “It’s like being a proud Papa.” SRS mentioned that he recently spoke to his former student, Emily Jaye, and she recently wrestled on Ring of Honor. Spears would go on and say they are proud. He says he and Breeze trained former AEW Tag Team Champion Colten Gunn. Spears still gets proud watching Colten do things.

Spears mentioned that Kiana James was also his student and that she has grasped things so fast at NXT.

Regarding his return to NXT, Spears did say there was a conversation about potentially using the name Tye Dillinger again. They asked him which one he preferred. He said that he felt Spears was the best way to go, and he also mentioned that Shawn Michaels liked the presentation of Shawn Spears and what it brought to the table.

Spears says he owns the rights to his character, “Shawn Spears.” SRS mentioned to Spears that his old theme song was a banger. They both gave a shout-out to Josiah Williams.

SRS asked about Spears' reduced schedule in AEW. He said things moved quickly, and he felt he couldn’t find a spot. He worked some independent dates. Spears says he hopes WWE is the final stop for him career-wise.

SRS asked Shawn if Cassie would be interested in working at the work at the PC. SRS mentioned how she has a wealth of knowledge for the business. Spears said he is all for it if she wants to come back. He said he would stay home with the kids.

SRS asked about Spears's return to AEW for their Toronto debut. Spears told SRS it was a little different because he was on leave from the company after losing his mother. Shawn said Toronto is special to him and like a second home. He mentioned his match against Bobby Roode at Takeover Toronto. Spears added that Toronto fans had always supported him and believed that was something he needed at that time.

Spears spoke about the promo afterwards that night of his return, which he usually would not have done, and said it was very therapeutic.

They spoke about Chris Danger’s first match at Deadlock Pro. SRS mentioned how Danger was initially set to face Adam Cole, but Cole broke his ankle.  Danger’s debut would then be against Spears. Spears said, “I beat the shit out of Chris.”

Spears would add that Danger put in the work. He mentioned that Danger did everything right after training with him at Flatbacks. He mentioned that Danger had gear made, continued training on his own, and promoted himself via social media. Shawn said, “I hope he is as proud of the match as he is of him.”

You can follow Shawn on X, @ShawnSpears, or Instagram @TheShawnSpears

We encourage aggregators to wait until the actual interview is posted for the full context of his statements.

*This has been edited to fix a few errors and for clarity.