Shawn Spears was the first man to jump from WWE to AEW, showing up during the Casino battle Royale at AEW's first-ever pay-per-view Double or Nothing. Spears was granted his WWE release in February 2019 after failing to gain traction on the main roster as Tye Dillinger.
Spears had his first big match in AEW against Cody at All Out in August and the match was not only special because it gave Spears an opportunity to showcase himself on a big stage, but the match also happened to fall in the middle of his honeymoon.
"We were on our honeymoon and smack dab in the middle of it was the show, so we flew from Hawaii to Chicago, and back to Hawaii for the second leg of our honeymoon. I was so happy for him and proud of him. Even up until this point, the world has not gotten a glimpse of how talented he is. He is on another level and I can't wait until he finally gets to show the world," said Spears' wife Peyton Royce in an interview with Chris Van Vliet.
When asked if Spears leaving WWE had any effect on Royce and her status in the company, she responded by saying, "No, it was never a thought for me. I wanted him to be happy and needed him to be happy. Wrestling is such a small world, everyone knows everyone, everyone is friends. So many of my friends are over [at AEW] and they have friends with us. It's not as crazy as people...who have these strange ideas."
There are a handful of inter-promotional couples in AEW and WWE including Britt Baker & Adam Cole, Big Swole & Cedric Alexander, and Jon Moxley & Renee Young.
Royce went on to say that her and Spears have been spending more time together during the quarantine as they live in Florida and don't have to travel since both companies are holding shows in Florida during the empty arena era.
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