It’s been a rollercoaster of a year for Shawn Spears.
After the birth of his child in January, many fans were curious to know when Shawn Spears might resume in-ring action. And on April 12, they got their answer. During the respective episode of AEW Dynamite, it was announced that Spears would make his long-awaited return the following Friday on AEW Rampage against “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry. Perry went on to score the victory over Spears.
Before his return was even officially announced, Shawn Speaks spoke with Chris Van Vliet about his hope of being back on AEW television. Amidst the conversation, Spears also opened up about his time away from the ring. “I hope [to be back]. I hope. I’ve tried, we put some feelers out there and some ideas out there, it’s just a matter of trying to get the wheels in motion,” Spears said. “They’ve been very, very good — last year was tough. I lost my mom last August. It was just, we kind of knew it was coming. But then it happened very suddenly. So that was tough, but at the same time, Cassie [Lee] was five and a half, six months pregnant. It’s like I’m expecting and losing at the same time.”
“I’m in Florida, and I’m trying to settle my mom’s estate. I have no family here, so everybody’s home [in Canada]. My family doesn’t come from any money. We didn’t have anything growing up, so it’s just a matter of making sure everything is handled and taken care of. My older sister, she’s doing a lot of the running around and basically, a lot of them didn’t have a chance to mourn. I didn’t have a chance to mourn because I’m way over here and I’m not with them, and then you go home quick. And then you have to get back to your wife. It was just a lot and AEW is very good about kind of allowing me that time.”
During his previous hiatus, Spears did make a pair of appearances last fall. On October 12, Spears emerged before his home country of Canada to set up a six-man tag team match with himself and FTR against The Embassy (Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage & Toa Liona). After the men clashed on AEW Rampage in Toronto, Spears issued an emotional promo explaining his absence and his future.
Reflecting on his promo, Shawn Spears admitted it felt like the most “real” speech he’d ever delivered on the microphone. “That got me pretty good but I felt like — and I think I said it — I felt like I owed people an explanation. It’s the most real [promo I’ve done] and I think it’s because I was home and because I just felt like being honest. I’ve been playing pro wrestler for a very long time, and it’s been great and it’s been fun, but I’m at that point now where I guess I care but I don’t. I’m going to say what I want, say what I feel and if people can gravitate towards it, wonderful. If people want to toss it to the side, that’s fine too. I think moreso than anything else, I’m going to get back to being me.”
Spears said he keeps things pretty close to the vest and didn’t tell anyone what he was going to say. FTR’s Dax Harwood handed him the mic, calling for the “hometown boy” to speak. Spears said he figured he should tell people why he was gone and it was a very emotional night. He said plenty of people sent him messages about their own personal grief and it was nice to share that with them.
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