Tye Dillinger makes WWE SmackDown debut
On a night of debuts, former NXT standout Tye Dillinger was officially called up to WWE and made his SmackDown debut Tuesday night at the Amway Center in Orlando, FL.
His debut came against Curt Hawkins in a match he won via pinfall in the first hour of the show.
The 36-year-old has been in the business since 2002 and first was signed to a WWE developmental deal in 2006, working in OVW and FCW before getting called up to the ECW brand for several months. He was released in January 2009, but was re-signed in September 2013 after several years on the indies that included stops with TNA and Ring of Honor.
Returning under the name Tye Dillinger, the Canadian eventually gained popularity with the “Perfect 10” gimmick and made his official WWE debut at this year’s Royal Rumble, drawing #10. He took the pin in the eight-person tag team match that opened up NXT TakeOver last Saturday night.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.