Tyler Breeze Still Getting Paid By WWE Two Years After Release
Tyler Breeze has not wrestled since his WWE release two years ago, instead devoting his time to running the Flatbacks wrestling school he co-owns with Shawn Spears in the Orlando area. He does have a return match lined up, though, for Prestige Wrestling on September 1, but he can probably be considered semi-retired without ruffling feathers. Now Fightful Select has provided some clarity on his status, including what kind of contractual restrictions he's under despite not being an active wrestler.
Reportedly, Breeze is still under contract to WWE, one that specifically covers his appearances as a regular on Xavier Woods/Austin Creed's UpUpDownDown YouTube channel. Fightful was unable to determine if the contract has any "wrestling provisions or restrictions" in it, but one source said that it bars Breeze from "appearing on AEW programming." Fightful added that the sources they talked to for the story touted Breeze's business acumen, setting himself up for his future with various investments on top of running the school as his day-to-day business.
Breeze spent almost five years in WWE's developmental system, first in Florida Championship Wrestling and later in "WWE NXT," before being called up to the main roster in late 2015. Despite being heavily pushed in "NXT," to the point that he was the opponent picked for Jushin Thunder Liger's lone WWE match, he never got much of a chance to flourish on the main roster. Eventually, in 2019, Breeze returned to "NXT" in a veteran "player-coach" role, being an experienced hand who could be trusted to help bring the younger talent along.