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AEW announced that former WWE NXT Superstar Tino Sabbatelli would be making his debut for the promotion on the upcoming episode of AEW Dark.
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The former NXT Superstar will team up with Brady Pierce in a tag team match against The Best Friends. The next episode of AEW Dark will air on Tuesday, July 21 at 7 pm ET.
It was also revealed that Sabbatelli would use 'Sabby' as his new in-ring name.
Tino Sabbatelli's WWE career
The former NFL player was signed on a developmental contract by the WWE back in October 2014. Sabbatelli played in the NFL for six years before he turned towards professional wrestling as the next avenue in his career.
He was part of the Breaking Ground series in 2015, which highlighted the training of the developmental talents at the Performance Center.
As is the case with most up-and-coming performers in NXT, Sabbatelli made his in-ring debut for the company at an NXT live event in April 2015. He was part of a Battle Royal.
Sabbatelli's pro wrestling career suffered an early setback as he sustained a concussion 10 months into his training, at a house show.
The former football safety would recover from the injury before making his NXT TV debut on the episode of the Black and Gold brand in October 2016. Tino teamed up with Riddick Moss in a losing effort against TM-61.
Moss and Sabbatelli continued their alliance on WWE NXT TV for a few months until he had his first televised singles match in September 2017 against Johnny Gargano.
Sabbatelli's career, however, hit another roadblock as he had to undergo surgery to fix a torn pectoral muscle in April 2018. Sabbatelli was also in the news in 2018 after he and Mandy Rose went public about their relationship by showing up together at the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony
The 36-year-old star, however, ended up being sidelined for two long years until he made his in-ring return at an NXT show in February 2020. He worked a few more matches at various NXT live events before his release in April earlier this year.
Sabbatelli was one of the many Superstars who were let go from the company as part of the recent budget cuts. Sabbatelli's WWE stint was riddled with injuries, but he now seems ready to begin a fresh chapter in AEW. While there is no news on whether or not he has signed a full-time deal with All Elite Wrestling, the AEW Dark match could be like a tryout which could lead to a possible contract offer if he fares well.
