Shawn Spears Explains Why He Chose To Join AEW

We reported yesterday that Shawn Spears (the former Tye Dillinger) was added to AEW Double or Nothing as part of the Casino Battle Royal on the Buy-In pre-show. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Spears said his non-compete clause from WWE expires less than 48 hours before Double or Nothing and revealed why he joined AEW. Here are highlights:

On joining AEW: “I’m coming to AEW because I believe in what they are doing. I believe in providing an alternative for fans, and I really believe that the audience has wanted an alternative for quite some time. This is now the platform to give people exactly what they want, and I am really looking forward to proving myself in AEW.”

On taking control of his career: “My career has had its ups and downs, but I took the reins in the past few months. Now I plan on taking a very specific, driven direction. And what better time than this Saturday at Double or Nothing to prove that to the world?”

On how he can help the company: “I’m able to bring a great deal of experience to a company that is looking to build young talent, which is vital to the future of professional wrestling. I’ve known Cody [Rhodes] for a very long time, and in terms of this endeavor, there are no better four guys than Cody, the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega that I would trust to put this together. AEW is history-making. When the chance presented itself to be a part of something so groundbreaking, I wasn’t going to wait around any longer.”