Shawn Spears Says CM Punk Helped Him Get a Second WWE Developmental Run

Shawn Spears had a few runs in WWE, and he notes that the connections he made with CM Punk, Cody Rhodes and more got him a second chance in developmental. Spears was a guest on Cody Deaner’s Wrestling is, Life is Wrestling podcast and talked about how those connections during his first developmental run helped him when he was seeking to get back in the company for what would be his most well-known run as Tye Dillinger.

“That’s where the professionalism aspect of what we do really really comes into play,” Spears noted (per Fightful). “So, I made good friends with Cody [Rhodes] who’s one of my closest friends to this day… I met guys like [CM] Punk there… [and] Joey Mercury,” he said. “The reason why I bring those guys up is because in my quest to get back [to the WWE] in those 4 and a half years [after I was released the first time] I still kept in contact with the Codys and the Punks and the Mercurys… just checking in. An opportunity came up to for another tryout and the only reason I got that was because CM Punk, who was the world champion at the time, put my name [on a list]. He was asked for 10 guys on the indies who he thought should be signed and he put my name on that list.”

He continued, “I didn’t get back into that tryout because I’d been killing it on the indies. I was just pretty much primarily working in Canada. I wasn’t making waves anywhere else. I didn’t work for any other companies. I got back there because of the connections and context I had made my first time around [with guys like CM Punk].”