(1981-02-19) February 19, 1981 (age 43) St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Spouse(s)
Cassie Lee
(m. 2019)
Children
1
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) is a Canadian professional wrestler and trainer. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Shawn Spears. He previously performed in WWE from 2013 to 2019 under the name Tye Dillinger. He is also known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) from 2019 to 2023.
Having begun his career on the independent circuit in 2002 as Shawn Spears, Arneill initially joined WWE in 2006 and worked for the company between 2006 and 2009, performing in the developmental territories Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) as well as briefly on the main roster brand ECW under the slightly modified ring name Gavin 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 new gimmick of Tye Dillinger. After a rise in popularity, he was promoted to the main roster in April 2017, working on the SmackDown 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.
^ abcdeKapur, Bob (November 3, 2010). "Spears not bitter about years in WWE developmental, brief TV time". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
^ abcd"Tye Dillinger bio". WWE. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
^"Shawn Spears « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
Canadian Sensation" ShawnSpears, where he defeated then-SmackDown! superstar Simon Dean. After his victory, Dean attacked Spears until Spears was saved by Al...
Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) on May 13, 2006. He formed a tag team with ShawnSpears in mid-August 2006 and won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship twice...
Orlando, Florida. There she was taught the industry by Tyler Breeze and ShawnSpears. When she originally began working wrestling events, it was without pay...
Jensen for the NXT North American Title, Trick Williams' appearance, ShawnSpears vs. Ridge Holland, Gigi Dolin vs. Arianna Grace". Pro Wrestling Dot Net...
Emotional ShawnSpears on Where He's Been & His Future - AEW Rampage, 10/14/22 - YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved 18 October 2022. "Cassie Lee & ShawnSpears welcome...
Wrestling (AEW) on the March 31, 2020 episode of AEW Dark, losing to ShawnSpears. On the June 3 episode of AEW Dynamite, Dean made his televised AEW debut...
James Kayla Inlay Xtina Kay Billed height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) Billed from Sioux City, Iowa Trained by ShawnSpears Tyler Breeze Debut September 11, 2021...
Coffey Mr. Stone Nathan Frazer Noam Dar Oba Femi Oro Mensah Ridge Holland ShawnSpears Tony D'Angelo Trick Williams Wes Lee Wolfgang Women's division Adriana...
Roadblock, Finlay made his WWE debut under the name Uriah Connors against ShawnSpears, which he lost. Renner, Ethan (27 September 2021). "NJPW Strong spoilers:...
and Elijah Burke in dark matches on OVW television. On June 5, he and ShawnSpears unsuccessfully took on Roadkill and Chet the Jet. Two weeks later at...
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed...
Matt Hardy's contract goes to The Firm, Nyla Rose vs. Anna Jay, FTR and ShawnSpears vs. Brian Cage, Kaun, and Toa Liona". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived...
serve as an "exclusive advisor" for ShawnSpears in All Elite Wrestling. At All Out, Blanchard accompanied Spears for his match against Cody, but in a...
Coffey Mr. Stone Nathan Frazer Noam Dar Oba Femi Oro Mensah Ridge Holland ShawnSpears Tony D'Angelo Trick Williams Wes Lee Wolfgang Women's division Adriana...
Jensen for the NXT North American Title, Trick Williams' appearance, ShawnSpears vs. Ridge Holland, Gigi Dolin vs. Arianna Grace". Pro Wrestling Dot Net...
Allin teamed with Joey Janela and Jimmy Havoc in a losing effort to ShawnSpears, MJF and Sammy Guevara. After the match, the three men would blame each...
Coffey Mr. Stone Nathan Frazer Noam Dar Oba Femi Oro Mensah Ridge Holland ShawnSpears Tony D'Angelo Trick Williams Wes Lee Wolfgang Women's division Adriana...
Coffey Mr. Stone Nathan Frazer Noam Dar Oba Femi Oro Mensah Ridge Holland ShawnSpears Tony D'Angelo Trick Williams Wes Lee Wolfgang Women's division Adriana...
mother, Lacey Spears, who injected him with high levels of sodium, leading to swelling in his brain. On March 2, 2015, a jury found Spears guilty of murdering...
ShawnSpears in steel cage match, with MJF serving as the special referee and being unsuccessful in his effort to cost Wardlow the match after Spears...
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