 Spears in 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ronnie William Arneill (1981-02-19)February 19, 1981 (age 44) St. Catharines,Ontario, Canada |
Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Gavin Spears[1] Shawn Spears Stan Tye Dillinger[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 223 lb (101 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Niagara Falls, Ontario,Canada[2] |
| Trained by | Cody Deaner[1] Derek Wylde[1] Eric Young[1] |
| Debut | March 2002[3] |
Ronnie William Arneill[1] (born February 19, 1981), better known by hisring nameShawn Spears, is a Canadianprofessional wrestler and trainer. He is signed toWWE, where he performs on theNXTbrand and is the leader ofThe Culling. He is a formerNXT North American Champion. He previously performed in WWE from 2013 to 2019 under the nameTye Dillinger. He is also known for his time inAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) from its inaugural event,Double or Nothing, in 2019 to 2023.
Having begun his career on theindependent circuit in 2002 as Shawn Spears, Arneill initially joined WWE in 2006 and worked for the company between 2006 and 2009, performing in thedevelopmental territoriesOhio Valley Wrestling (OVW) andFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW) as well as briefly on the main roster brandECW under the slightly modified ring nameGavin Spears. After being released from WWE in 2009, he returned to the independent scene, before rejoining WWE in 2013 where he was assigned to NXT under the newgimmick of Tye Dillinger. After a rise in popularity, he was promoted to the main roster in April 2017, working on theSmackDown brand until his second release from the company in February 2019.
Shortly after leaving WWE, he signed with the newly founded AEW in May 2019, reverting to his Shawn Spears name. After his AEW contract expired at the end of 2023, Arneill rejoined WWE in February 2024 and was assigned once more to the NXT brand, retaining the Shawn Spears character.
Born and raised inSt. Catharines,Ontario, Arneill attendedLaura Secord Secondary School.[4] He played hockey for over ten years until he decided to leave the sport and enter professional wrestling.[5] During his childhood, he was a fan ofRick Rude,Rick Martel, andMr. Perfect.[1]
Arneill trained at the Hart Wrestling School in Cambridge Ontario with Smith Hart, Ike Shaw and Waldo Von Erich and then withEric Young at the WrestlePlexschool before receiving further training from Derek Wylde andCody Deaner.[1] Upon wrestling his debut match in March 2002 as Shawn Spears, he began wrestling for some of the biggest independent wrestling promotions throughout Ontario and the United States, includingBorder City Wrestling,World Xtreme Wrestling, andBlood Sweat and Ears. On February 27, 2005, Arneill made an appearance on an edition ofWWE Heat, unsuccessfully teaming with Mikael Yamaha to faceThe Hurricane and Rosey.[6]
After sending a tape to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) officials, Arneill was called for a try-out inBuffalo, New York.[1] He was signed to a developmental contract by WWE following the tryout, on January 21, 2006.[1]
After signing his WWE contract, Arneill was assigned to the company'sdevelopmental territory,Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). He made his OVW television debut as "The Canadian Sensation" Shawn Spears, where he defeated then-SmackDown! superstarSimon Dean. After his victory, Dean attacked Spears until Spears was saved byAl Snow, who fended off Dean with a chair. After his debut, Spears quickly made an impact in OVW with a short undefeated streak that was soon ended byAaron "The Idol" Stevens when Stevens made Spearssubmit. After this, Spears formed a tag team withCody Runnels and they feuded withThe Throwbacks for theSouthern Tag Team Championship. On November 5, 2006, Spears appeared atCyber Sunday as a backstage producer named Stan; in a comedic segment betweenTriple H and Shawn Michaels, who superkicked him while discussing "controversy" with Triple H, before proceeding to superkick several more staff members, much to Triple H's amusement.[7] On December 15, 2006, Spears and Runnels won the title from The Throwbacks.
On March 17, 2007, Spears won theOVW Television Championship fromBoris Alexiev, his first singles title in OVW. Soon after winning the title, he became more focused on championships and even began trying to steal Runnels'OVW Heavyweight Championship opportunity. During Runnels' OVW Heavyweight Championship match, Spears interfered and performed apiledriver to Runnels, preventing him from winning the OVW Heavyweight Championship and thus solidifying hisheel turn. Spears then beganfeuding with Runnels and eventually lost the OVW Television Championship to him on July 6, 2007 before winning it back one week later. He once again lost the title on September 19 to the debuting Ted "Manbeast" McNailer. Spears later regained the OVW Television Championship only to lose it toColt Cabana. Spears then began feuding with Cabana and the pair went on to win the vacantOVW Southern Tag Team Championship with on November 7 after defeatingPaul Burchill andStu Sanders. On December 19, Cabana and Spears' feud culminated in aladder match in which the winner would claim the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship for themselves and choose a new partner. Spears lost to Cabana, who then chose Charles "The Hammer" Evans as his new tag team partner.
After OVW split with WWE, Spears debuted in WWE's newdevelopment territory,Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), and teamed up withNic Nemeth to defeat The Puerto Rican Nightmares for theFCW Florida Tag Team Championship on August 17.[8] Nearly a month later, Nemeth and Spears lost the title toJoe Hennig andHeath Miller on September 11.[8]
On the August 19 episode ofECW, Spears made his WWE television debut as a heel under the name Gavin Spears as part ofTheodore Long's "New Superstar Initiative" in a losing effort toRicky Ortiz.[9] After hisECW debut, Spears began splitting time between ECW and FCW. On the September 2 edition ofECW, Spears was defeated bySuper Crazy.[10] After a three-month absence due to competing in FCW, Spears returned to television on the December 16 episode ofECW, where he lost toFinlay in what turned out to be his final match for the company.[11] On January 9, 2009, Arneill was released from his contract.[12]
The day before he had been released from WWE, Arneill had broken his hand, and was unable to wrestle for 12 weeks following his release as a result.[1] On May 27, 2009, Spears wrestled and lost to fellow WWE alumnusElijah Burke in a tryout dark match forTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling at theirImpact! television tapings.[13] On June 12, Spears made an appearance forRing of Honor (ROH), where he defeated Alex Payne.[14]
On May 16, 2010, Arneill, under his Gavin Spears ring name, teamed up withEl Hijo de L.A. Park in a losing effort to Dr. Wagner III and Gigante Extassis on an Extreme Air Wrestle show in Mexico, marking his first tour of Mexico.[15] On May 28 and 29, Arneill made appearances at the 2010Anime North convention.[16]
On August 15, he teamed up withIdol Stevens to capture theWWC World Tag Team Championship after defeatingThunder and Lightning. On October 31, Spears and Stevens lost the World Tag Team Title back to Thunder and Lightning.
On September 15, 2013, it was reported that Spears had re-signed withWWE, and he was assigned to WWE'sdevelopmental territoryNXT under the ring name Tye Dillinger.[17] He made his televisedNXT debut in a losing effort againstMojo Rawley.[18] In early 2014, Dillinger formed a tag team withJason Jordan, with the two described as a pair ofblue chip athletes. The team of Dillinger and Jordan got their first televised win on the April 17 episode ofNXT, defeatingBaron Corbin andSawyer Fulton. On the June 5 episode ofNXT, Dillinger and Jordan defeatedlocal competitors. On the August 7 episode ofNXT, Dillinger and Jordan lost in the first round of aNXT Tag Team Championship tournament toEnzo Amore and Colin Cassady. Dillinger and Jordan then appeared infrequently together, with Dillinger mostly being used asenhancement talent. On the February 25, 2015 episode ofNXT, Dillinger's partnership with Jordan officially ended when Jordan, unhappy with his partner not initially tagging him in, jumped off the apron and walked out on Dillinger just as he went to make the tag.[19] After the match, an enraged Dillinger called out his old partner but instead was met with a quick loss to Baron Corbin.[19]
On the August 12 episode ofNXT, Dillinger debuted a newgimmick as the "Perfect 10" and defeatedSolomon Crowe. He faced the debutingApollo Crews atNXT TakeOver: Brooklyn and another debutingAndrade "Cien" Almas atNXT TakeOver: The End, but he lost both matches.[20] On the September 28, 2016 episode ofNXT, Dillinger was approached byBobby Roode, who proposed the two team up for theDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which Dillinger accepted. On the October 12 episode ofNXT, Roode walked out on Dillinger during a tag team match againstSAnitY (Alexander Wolfe and Sawyer Fulton), resulting in the team losing in the first round. The following week onNXT, Dillinger called out Roode for a match atNXT TakeOver: Toronto, thus turningface in the process. At the event, Dillinger lost to Roode.
On the December 14 episode ofNXT, Dillinger defeatedEric Young by disqualification in a number one contender's Fatal 4-Way qualifying match. AtNXT TakeOver: San Antonio, Dillinger was defeated by Young following a distraction from Alexander Wolfe andKillian Dain. AtNXT TakeOver: Orlando, Dillinger teamed up withRoderick Strong,Kassius Ohno andRuby Riot to take on SAnitY in an 8-personmixed tag team match in a losing effort. Dillinger made his last NXT appearance on the April 5 tapings, closing out the event by winning aSteel Cage match against Eric Young.
On January 29, 2017, atRoyal Rumble, Dillinger was a surprise entrant in theRoyal Rumble match, entering at number 10 but was eliminated byBraun Strowman.[21] Dillinger entered a short feud withAiden English, defeating him on various episodes ofSmackDown Live, leading to matches atBacklash andBattleground, where Dillinger was defeated.[22][23] He also participated on three matches for AJ Style's United States Championship, but he didn't win the title.[24][25][26]
He also participated on the PPVsFastlane,[27]WrestleMania 34,[28] and, his final pay-per-view appearance, theGreatest Royal Rumble.[29] Dillinger suffered a hand injury in October 2018 which kept him out of action for several months. He returned to in-ring competition at ahouse show on February 9, 2019; however, he was still not used on television. On February 19, 2019, Dillinger announced in aTwitter statement that he had requested his release from WWE and was granted on February 22, 2019.[30][31]
Arneill, under his previous name of Shawn Spears, debuted forAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) at their inaugural pay-per-view eventDouble or Nothing, competing in the pre-showCasino Battle Royale thatAdam Page won.[32] In an interview withSports Illustrated, Spears stated he would be appearing with the promotion going forward.[33] AEW officially announced his signing on June 12.[34] AtFyter Fest in June, Spears established himself as a heel after hittingCody with a steel chair shot to the top of the head, which legitimately drew blood after a mistake.[35] Going forward he began calling himself "The Chairman of AEW". AtAll Out on August 31, Spears unsuccessfully faced Cody in a singles match.[36] Leading to All Out, Spears aligned withTully Blanchard, who began acting as his manager.[37] Spears then started a feud withJoey Janela, after Janela had disrespected Blanchard.[38] AtFull Gear on November 9, Spears defeated Janela.[39] In February 2020, Blanchard and Spears began a campaign to recruit a new tag team partner for Spears. However, the angle was soon dropped due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after, Spears was used primarily in a comedic role as he mockedDustin Rhodes and the Rhodes family in a news report parody segment and challenged Dustin Rhodes to a match atDouble or Nothing. At Double or Nothing, Spears had his clothes ripped off and was defeated by Dustin Rhodes.[40]
On the June 3 episode ofDynamite, Blanchard returned and berated Spears for making a joke out of himself at Double or Nothing. He then presented him with a black glove, similar to the one worn byBlackjack Mulligan andTed DiBiase, that can be illegally loaded with a metal slug.[41] Spears made his in-ring return on the June 16 edition ofDark wearing the black glove, scoring a submission victory over Lee Johnson after applying theSharpshooter on Johnson.[42] Over the months, Spears claimed victories over various competitors, then knocked them out with his loaded black glove. He later disposed of the glove after an interview with AEW commentatorTony Schiavone. In October, Spears began a short feud againstScorpio Sky after taunting him several times before his matches. On the November 11 episode ofDynamite, Spears defeated Sky, ending their feud.
After the December 23 episode ofDynamite, Spears was absent from AEW television, but was present on the stage for theten-bell salute during theBrodie Lee Celebration of Life on December 30. He made his return on March 3, reuniting with Blanchard andFTR by helping them defeatJurassic Express.[43] On March 10, Spears, Blanchard and FTR joined a faction led by MJF,[44] later known asThe Pinnacle. The Pinnacle began a feud withThe Inner Circle, defeating them in aBlood and Guts match atBlood and Guts before losing in aStadium Stampede match atDouble or Nothing. In early 2022, the Pinnacle began to dissolve. Spears continued aligning himself with MJF in the latter's feud against Wardlow. Spears lost to Wardlow on the May 25 episode ofDynamite in a steel cage match, with MJF as special guest referee.
Spears returned on the October 12 episode ofDynamite in Toronto as a face, reverting to his "Perfect 10" gimmick from WWE. During theZero Hour pre-show ofAll Out 2023, he participated in the Over The Budget Battle Royal, but was eliminated by Aussie Open. On December 23, Spears announced his departure from AEW, becoming a free agent on January 1, 2024.[45]
AtNXT Vengeance Day on February 4, 2024, a mysterious vignette was played. Arneill made his return to WWE in the February 27 episode ofNXT, attackingRidge Holland with a steel chair. Instead of returning as Tye Dillinger, he kept the Shawn Spears name as well as his "Chairman" gimmick from AEW.[46] Spears defeatedUriah Connors on March 5 atNXT: Roadblock.[47] Spears wrestled for theNXT Championship in afatal four-way match atNXT Heatwave, which was won by Ethan Page.[48]
He began a storyline where he becameBrooks Jensen's mentor and formed a stable withIzzi Dame andNiko Vance calledThe Culling.[49][50][51] On the March 4 episode ofNXT, Spears defeated Tony D'Angelo to win theNXT North American Championship.[52] On the April 1 episode ofNXT, Spears lost the title toRicky Saints despite interference from The Culling, ending his reign at 28 days.[53] On the July 22 episode ofNXT, The Culling (Spears, Vance, Dame andTatum Paxley) defeatedNXT Tag Team Champions Hank and Tank (Hank Walker andTank Ledger),Zaria, andWWE Speed Women's andNXT Women's North American ChampionSol Ruca in aneight-person mixed tag team match in The Culling's first match as a whole stable.[54]
Arneill, as Tye Dillinger, appears in the video gamesWWE 2K17 (asdownloadable content),WWE 2K18 andWWE 2K19, and as Shawn Spears inWWE 2K25 as a playable character.[55][56][57]
Arneill married Australian professional wrestlerCassandra McIntosh, better known by herring names Cassie Lee and Peyton Royce, in August 2019.[58][59][60] They have two sons named Austin (born January 17, 2023)[61][62][63] and Harley (born June 21, 2024).[64][65]
Arneill and fellow Canadian professional wrestlerMattias Clement, better known by his ring name Tyler Breeze, co-own and run a wrestling school called Flatbacks Wrestling inApopka, Florida.[66]
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