Tye Dillinger debuts on SmackDown, officially unleashes '10' chant on main roster

Published Apr. 4, 2017 9:28 p.m. ET

Nick Schwartz

The first shows after WrestleMania are always some of the most exciting of the year, and after The Revival made the jump from NXT to Raw on Monday, SmackDown welcomed a perfect addition to its roster in Orlando.

Tye Dillinger, "The Perfect Ten," arrived on the main roster after Curt Hawkins issued an open invitation to the locker room.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/849422190940389377

Dillinger had previously participated in the Royal Rumble (as entrant No. 10). Even if you don't watch NXT, you're probably familiar with some of Dillinger's work. His "10" chant is among the most popular in all of professional wrestling, and WWE crowds have been drowning out the referees' counts when wrestlers are outside the ring with 10s for months.

For Dillinger, who is 36, it's been a long journey to SmackDown. Dillinger signed with WWE way back in 2006 and wrestled both in OVW in FCW before a short stint in ECW, but he was eventually released in 2009 and returned to the independent scene. Four years later, Dillinger returned to WWE to work in NXT, and he's since become a huge fan favorite.

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