WWE News: Major Uncertainty Surrounding Aleister Black’s Future
Aleister Black hasn’t appeared on an episode of a WWE television show since October of last year. Some fans expected the Friday Night SmackDown superstar to return at last month’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, but it appears as if the company has no plans for him at all.
As documented by Ringside News, Black’s name reportedly hasn’t been mentioned at any recent creative meetings. There have been no reports of the superstar being injured recently either, but some fans and pundits have speculated that he may have upset members of management after requesting a return to NXT following Zelina Vega’s firing last year.
The Inquisitr previously reported that Black was so upset by his wife’s release that he no longer wanted to work with Vince McMahon on the main roster. As the article highlighted, the Wrestling Observer Radio‘s Dave Meltzer talked about the matter, revealing that it “doesn’t look good” for the former NXT Champion.
Meltzer went on to state that Black wasn’t being discussed in the company’s creative plans back then either. The latest development suggested that nothing has changed since then, though it may not be due to the Vega situation.
As Ringside News stated, Black wasn’t even a topic of focus in creative meetings prior to his wife being fired and him reportedly requesting a brand switch. It may be that Vince McMahon and other officials don’t see much potential in the star, or they’re keeping him fresh until he can be used in a substantial storyline.
According to PW Elite, by way of Heel By Nature, the latter reason might be true. Contrary to the latest development, one of the outlet’s reporters learned that officials want to bring Black back with impact and have him re-debut down the line
“I was told he was purposely pulled from television so he [can come back] and have a big dramatic [re-debut] for SmackDown, and it just hasn’t happened. My feeling is maybe the stuff with his wife Zelina [Vega], might have led to them saying ‘hey, let’s wait a bit, let’s the waters kind of calm.”
At one point, McMahon was supposedly high on the Dutchman and keen to help him evolve. It was believed that he needed some alterations made to his character and presentation, which may have been why he was given an eye patch. Regardless of what those necessary improvements were, the belief was that the boss had high hopes for Black.
