Tye Dillinger Asked for WWE Contract Release After 5-Plus Years with Company

Tye Dillinger announced Wednesday that he requested his release from WWE on Tuesday night.      

Dillinger revealed the news in the following tweet:

The 38-year-old made the announcement at midnight ET, just as his birthday ended.

Dillinger's latest stint with WWE lasted more than five years, and he spent the past two years on the main roster as part of the SmackDown Live brand.

The Canadian originally signed a developmental contract with WWE in 2006, which resulted in a brief run on the main roster from 2008-09. Under the name Gavin Spears, he was an undercard performer on the ECW brand.

After working the independent circuit for a few years, Dillinger returned in 2013 and was assigned to NXT. While it took him some time to gain his footing, he finally caught his big break in 2015, when he debuted the "Perfect 10" character.

Dillinger would carry a sign with a 10 printed on it and show it to the crowd, which resulted in thunderous "10" chants that even became commonplace in matches that didn't involve him.

His main roster debut as Dillinger came in the 2017 Royal Rumble match when he fittingly entered as the No. 10 participant. Big things were expected out of him after that, but he never managed to become a key part of the blue brand's roster.

After missing four months with a hand injury, Dillinger returned to in-ring action at a WWE live event in February. Prior to Wednesday's announcement, he had not appeared on WWE programming since September.

If WWE grants Dillinger his release, it will inevitably lead to speculation he could join All Elite Wrestling.

AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes tweeted the following in response to The Perfect 10's announcement:

Dillinger and Rhodes have been public about their friendship in the past, and they have some history together. They co-held the OVW Southern Tag Team Championships twice in WWE's developmental system.

Regardless of where Dillinger goes, he built up a great deal of name recognition in WWE, and that should help him hit the ground running with another promotion as he looks to show what he is capable of after largely sitting on the sidelines recently.

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