In February, Shawn Spears, formerly known as Tye Dillinger, made a surprise return to WWE by attacking Ridge Holland with a chair on "WWE NXT." Following Spears' resurfacing, reports indicated that he was hidden backstage at the WWE Performance Center, while "NXT" head Shawn Michaels filled in for him during pre-show rehearsals. During a recent interview with "Insight With Chris Van Vliet," Spears opened up about the process behind his secret WWE return, which took place just months after he left AEW.
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"You have the team around you. You know who the team is and you keep your mouth shut," Spears said. "That is the only way to keep a secret nowadays. Keep your mouth shut; just don't tell anybody. I knew, Matt Bloom, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H [knew], that was it, I'm guessing. I knew Shawn for sure, Bloom for sure."
According to Spears, he kept his comeback so close to the vest that not even his family and best friend knew about it. His wife, former WWE star Cassie Lee, was also kept in the dark for a while.
"I didn't tell anybody, because in an excitement stage, some people that want you to see you do really well get really excited for you. With excitement comes loose lips sometimes," Spears said. "The same thing with someone who kind of wants to see you fail, it's much easier to have loose lips, so I went the safe route by keeping my mouth shut. They kept me in a room the majority of the day. I didn't even tell Cody [Rhodes]."
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If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Insight With Chris Van Vliet" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
