It’s been a whirlwind few weeks in the life of former WWE Superstar Tye Dillinger. Back on February 19, Dillinger revealed he had requested his release from the WWE after a second 6-year run with the company. On February 22, the WWE granted that request. On March 1, Dillinger – now back to his former indie name of Shawn Spears – revealed that he was now taking bookings for after May 31st as well as limited signings before.
Ok, under 2 weeks out and my excitement is already building. So, Let’s get to work.
NOW accepting bookings for shows after May. 31st, 2019 and available now for select signings and appearances.
Email: [email protected]
Thank you all and I look forward to this.
— Shawn Spears™️ (@ShawnSpears) March 1, 2019
The interesting thing is that Spears has strongly indicated that he is not taking bookings until May 31st of 2019, but his WWE no-compete clause of 90 days would make his first available date as being May 22nd – which is three days prior to All Elite Wrestling (AEW)‘s Double or Nothing event in 2019. There is always an outside chance that he has agreed in private to appear at Double or Nothing – the weekend prior to May 31st – which means that he is taking bookings from that date onwards simply because he is already booked for his first available weekend. AEW’s Cody Rhodes is close friends of Shawn Spears from their WWE days together and initially offered his support to his friend upon requesting his release.
Fearless. I can’t wait to see what you do next. I wish you all the happiness in the world old friend.
Don’t settle. https://t.co/ZTcZtDiycf
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) February 20, 2019
Cody has responded in several interviews of his respect for Spears, as Spears was one of the first to embrace the young Rhodes when he first showed up in WWE development in the early 2000s, starting with Wrestling Inc.
He would comment further on Shawn Spears in an interview with Pro Wrestling Sheet, where Rhodes remained nonchalant and non-committal on an AEW role, but did say that “any company – whether it’s NJPW, Ring of Honor, AEW or EVOLVE…there’s so many great companies – any company would benefit from having Tye Dillinger.”
Was Cody being coy about a potential appearance of Shawn Spears at Double or Nothing, or is he simply wishing his friend well on his own journey of rediscovery on the indie circuit? We’ll find out on May 25.
Wow…
The response has been incredible!
Thank you to all who have reached out and I’m excited to make my first announcement:
May 31st I will compete for @CreateAPro pic.twitter.com/FLVrKz9Sj8
— Shawn Spears™️ (@ShawnSpears) March 1, 2019
It didn’t take Spears long to start making his booking announcements, however, including two the first day he announced his returns dates. The first was for Friday, May 31st, where he will compete for Create A Pro Wrestling in New York (the school and indie promotion run by Pat Buck and WWE’s Curt Hawkins). Beyond Wrestling also announced that Shawn Spears would be appearing at the June 5th taping for their new weekly show, Uncharted Territory.
June 5th…@beyondwrestling … See you there.
Tickets available: https://t.co/ClREQsSaQi pic.twitter.com/M2utHZaArI
— Shawn Spears™️ (@ShawnSpears) March 1, 2019
On Saturday, he announced his first return to the West Coast, with a booking in California with All Pro Wrestling (APW) at their June 15th event APW Bay Area Bash.
West Coast…..
I didn’t forget about you.
June 15th@AllProWrestling pic.twitter.com/YwXSrTMUd4
— Shawn Spears™️ (@ShawnSpears) March 2, 2019
