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Shawn Spears Addresses His Critics After Winning The NXT North American Championship

Nearly two decades after he first debuted in WWE, Shawn Spears has finally captured a singles Championship.
Rick Ucchino|
Shawn Spears wins North American Title
Shawn Spears wins North American Title | WWE.com

It's been a long time coming, but Shawn Spears has finally won gold in WWE.

A year after his return to NXT, Spears defeated Tony D'Angelo in the main event of Tuesday night's episode to capture the NXT North American Championship.

The Don of NXT gave it everything he had, but Spears was ultimately able to take advantage of Tony's bad back to pick up the victory. Weeks worth of damage finally caught up to D'Angelo as the finish saw him crumble to the ground while attempting his spinebuster finisher. Spears immediately fell on top of him for the 3-count.

After the show came to a close, a fired up Spears addressed his critics in an NXT exclusive after interviewer Kelly Kincaid noted he took advantage of an injured man to claim victory.

“Really? You couldn’t let me have it, could you? Here I stand, the new North American Champion, and you can’t just give it to me. A year to the day since I returned, and you can’t just say, ‘Congratulations, you earned it.’ Exactly like everybody else over the course of 23 years, you can’t just give it to me, can you? Whether you like it or not, this happened. I am your new North American Champion. Love it. Learn to enjoy it.
Shawn Spears / WWE (h/t Fightful)
But a man is only as strong as the people behind him, and there is nothing more important on this planet than family. This symbolizes many things. It symbolizes that in a top star here in NXT. It means that I have ascended the ladder. What this also means is that everything I’ve been talking about, to Izzi Dame, to Niko Vance, to Brooks Jensen, is validated. It’s validated by this championship. It’s validated by me. Together, this is only the beginning.

Cassie Lee, formerly known as Peyton Royce in WWE, was spotted in the crowd last night. Lee and Spears have been married since 2019 and she was in attendance to support her husband.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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