Shawn Spears speaks following AEW Double or Nothing.
It was no surprise when Shawn Spears (formerly known as Tye Dillinger in WWE) showed up at AEW Double or Nothing on Saturday. After all, he had been announced as being one of the participants in the Casino Battle Royale the week leading up to the event. Many figured he would be AEW-bound following his WWE release due to his friendship with Cody Rhodes. Despite his presence on the show and ties with Cody, Spears has yet to sign a deal with the promotion.
"At this moment, there's nothing in writing. When the opportunity came to [be at AEW Double or Nothing], I dove all over it. I didn't ask any questions. I didn't care. I knew this was groundbreaking and history making and I wanted to be a part of that," said Spears to the media following Double or Nothing.
While Spears' role on the show wasn't a surprise, AEW did pull off a big surprise at the end of the show when Jon Moxley (formerly Dean Ambrose in WWE) showed up. Spears said of Moxley's appearance, "It was good to see Jon [Moxley]. You could see when he entered the ring that he was him. That's the guy we've been waiting to see for a few years. I'm pretty sure there's going to be a lot of people calling, knocking on the door, and trying to get here. Who knows who is going to show up next."
When asked why he was announced as appearing prior to the show while Moxley, and others like Awesome Kong and the Super Smash Bros, were kept as surprises, Spears wasn't concerned with his presence being announced.
"I don't know. That's above my pay grade. I wasn't in those meetings. I was a last minute addition. I left [WWE] 90 days ago and this card was pen to paper, months and months ago. The card was pretty much booked. I don't care where I would have been. It's about being a part of history."
Spears already has a handful of Independent dates booked throughout the summer. A return to AEW has not been announced.
