WWE Superstar confirms return after two-year absence

Tino Sabbatelli has confirmed that he will appear at the WWE NXT live event in Tampa, Florida on Friday, February 14.

The 36-year-old, who has been out of action since undergoing surgery on a torn pectoral muscle in April 2018, recently teased his return by tweeting “Ya I think it’s time” alongside a picture of him looking at his watch.

He has now given an interview to NXT backstage reporter Kat Marino ahead of his first appearance in front of a live crowd in almost two years.

“You know what, it’s kind of ironic that Tampa is the place that changed my life thirteen years ago, but I don’t think excited is the word I would use. I’m gonna say eager, eager to get something off my chest. Let’s go work.”

Sabbatelli – a former NFL player – joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2007, hence his reference to Tampa changing his life 13 years ago.

@TinoSabbatelli returns to #NXTTampa this Friday, February 14th. Get your tickets at https://t.co/eOKc3pOibe and catch all the action! pic.twitter.com/uvIgR1L7Dp

— Kat Marino (@KatMarinoNXT) February 13, 2020

Tino Sabbatelli’s WWE career

After signing for WWE in October 2014, Tino Sabbatelli appeared on the Breaking Ground series on the WWE Network in 2015 before featuring sporadically on NXT alongside tag team partner Riddick Moss between 2016-2018.

Unfortunately for Sabbatelli, shortly after he betrayed Moss and looked set for a push as a heel singles competitor, he suffered the injury that has kept him off television for the last 22 months.