Shad Gaspard tragically passed away this month after being pulled under by a rip current in Venice Beach.
Gaspard was famously part of Cryme Tyme alongside JTG in WWE. The duo never won the WWE Tag Team Titles, but were one of the more popular tag teams during that time and even linked up with John Cena for an angle during their run.
Appearing on Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia, JTG remembered his longtime friend and their run together.
"I met him at my first amateur show. I was introduced to him through Elijah Burke. From there, it was like a little brother, big brother relationship. The stars were just aligned. Same area, same background, we just had a lot in common. So, when they did put us in a tag team, it clicked. Everything made sense," he said.
JTG and Gaspard were friends before being paired together in OVW. And their pairing may have saved JTG's career as he wasn't progressing the way he had hoped.
"I was there for a while. I was down and depressed. It was Paul Heyman, Al Snow, and Danny Davis who decided to put us together. When I found out I was like, 'Alright, we have a good relationship. This could lead to something.' I wasn't even on TV yet, I was just there, lingering. I was in OVW for about two years."
Shad & JTG were paired together when JTG was just 21, leading to the two getting into some trouble because they were so young. The two were called up to the WWE main roster after just four months together in OVW.
Though they never won tag team gold, JTG says the duo got the "Road Warrior pop" according to Chris Jericho and that being over with the fans was more important than winning a title.
Following Shad's passing, JTG put out a lengthy Instagram post where he paid tribute to his friend. You can check out his Instagram post by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please give a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
