Tye Dillinger Explains How Secret Monthly Talent Reports Gave Birth To The “Perfect 10” Gimmick

Tye Dillinger explains how he became The Perfect 10

Before he was released by WWE earlier this year, Tye Dillinger had developed a cult following in the company as The Perfect 10. Dillinger, who was released by the company 2009, worked his way back to the promotion and re-signed in 2013. In NXT, he transformed himself into The Perfect 10, a gimmick that came about because Dillinger saw documents that were supposed to be hidden.

“They did monthly reports on talent. It was (the coaches) breakdown of how they felt and there would be numbers and categories — Psychology, Promos, Attitude, those things — and each coach ranked them 1 – 10 and the head coach would give the final opinion and rating. I ended up seeing some of these,” Dillinger explained on the Edge & Christian Pod of Awesomeness. “Across the board, I was getting 9s and thought I was doing alright. But when it came to the head coach, I was getting 5s and 6s. And the written part wasn’t any more flattering. I was on the chopping block because of this. I remember being home and venting to my best friend, who is on the Indies. I was like, ‘there’s no one there that’s a 10. He’s probably giving this guy a 10 and I’m getting 6s and 5s.’ Finally, I stopped and he said, ‘If there’s anyone there that’s a 10, it’s you.’ And I hung on that sentence. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And I formulated a concept of Perfect 10. And it stemmed from pieces of paper that I should have never seen.” 

Dillinger never named the coach in question but did say it was before Matt Bloom took over as the head trainer of NXT.

Dillinger continued, “I went in to pitch it and Dusty Rhodes, who I love and has always been straight up with me, he looked at me and said, ‘Baby, before you’re going to pitch this, I need you to know that right now, at this moment, there is not a whisper of you ever going up to the main roster.’ I went, ‘Oh, shit.’ He was never gonna let me get my hopes up. He let me know, ‘This is your situation. You have a chance to change it. But this is how you’re viewed.’ I pitched The Perfect 10 and was allowed to start doing it.”

The Perfect 10 gimmick became such a hit in NXT that it eventually led to Dillinger being called up to the main roster. However, he failed to gain traction on the main roster and ended up asking for, and receiving, his release in February.

Dillinger opened up about his release on the E&C podcast. You can read his comments by clicking here.