Quotes from Shawn Spears

The day leading up to the Royal Rumble was pretty routine. I got up early, went to the gym, got a good meal in and then packed my bags to head to the Alamodome.

The reality is if you tell people something long enough, good or bad, they're going to believe it. And for a while the picture painted was that I wasn't exactly a favorable character.

Regardless of what happens, when I'm seventy years old, I can look back and say that I did this the way I wanted to, on my terms, and I gave it everything I got.

I'll say it loud and proud: AEW has raised the bar. Everyone is doing better, because they have come along.

Bobby Roode is the kind of guy who will stab anyone in the back to get what he wants.

I did things right, I never got into any trouble. I was professional and I carried myself well and always did what I was asked to do.

When the bell rings in between the ropes, I'm in charge. No one can touch me. That's my time, no one can touch me.

I've always said that if I can make 20 years in-ring, anything beyond that is just a cherry on top, so 2020 I'm looking to challenging and healthy so hopefully if I can do two of those things, I'm pretty sure it's going to be a good year for me.

If you are watching television and two guys come out and you are already able to tell what the finish of that match is based on entrances alone, that's a problem.

I check all the boxes. You have a look, in-ring ability, the ability to speak and communicate. I have all that, plus experience.

I did commentary with Excalibur. It is an extremely, extremely difficult job. It gave me a whole new appreciation to how on point you need to be and how careful you need to because I was a almost like a color aspect of it.

My first time around in WWE, there wasn't the WWE Network. We weren't as big. It was much harder to crack through and get to the audience.

Talent needs credibility.

All talent needs is credibility and the freedom to create. That is all. That's what will make the talent happy, that's what makes me happy to this day.

But this is sports entertainment, so things can change on a daily basis. For that reason you have to be ready to go at any time.

AEW is history-making. When the chance presented itself to be a part of something so groundbreaking, I wasn't going to wait around any longer.

I'm not just a pretty face.

Now, I don't even consider NXT a developmental system. It's its own brand. So many guys were able to develop a following while in NXT.

I think in my time in AEW, I haven't been put in a very prominent position.

I believe in providing an alternative for fans, and I really believe that the audience has wanted an alternative for quite some time. This is now the platform to give people exactly what they want, and I am really looking forward to proving myself in AEW.

I believe in giving back to the industry of professional wrestling that has given me a great deal in my life.

I got goosebumps kind of thinking about it now because this is Tully Blanchard. This is a Hall of Famer. This is one of the greatest of all time, and he still has it.

Behind the scenes, I'm not a politicker. I have a very hard time telling somebody they're right when I feel they're wrong, and I have a very hard time telling somebody they're good when I feel they're not. That's just me.

I believe that if you stay positive and you keep your nose to the ground and you keep working hard for every inch that eventually will pay off and something will roll your way.