Report: WWE's big plans for Aleister Black revealed
SmackDown Superstar Aleister Black has been absent from WWE programming for over three months now. With WWE releasing Zelina Vega, Aleister Black's wife, in November 2020, there has been massive speculation on whether there are any plans for the former NXT Champion or will he be leaving the company soon.
As per a recent report from Mike Johnson on PWInsider Elite, WWE purposely took Aleister Black off the television and there were plans for him to return and have a big re-debut. However, that hasn't happened yet.
"I was told he was purposely pulled from television so he come back and have a big dramatic debut for SmackDown, and it just hasn't happened."
Aleister Black in WWE
After wrestling for several promotions like Insane Championship Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, wXw, and others, Aleister Black signed with WWE in June 2016. He made his NXT in-ring debut at TakeOver: Orlando in 2017. One year later, at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, Aleister Black defeated Andrade 'Cien' Almas to win the NXT Championship. He went on to hold the title for 108 days before losing it to Tommaso Ciampa.
Aleister Black was called-up to the WWE main roster in February 2019, and he started competing as a tag team alongside former NXT North American Champion Ricochet. The two challenged for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 35. His alliance with Ricochet ended after he was drafted to SmackDown.
Aleister Black was protected heavily on the main roster and didn't take a pinfall loss for almost a year before AJ Styles pinned him on an episode of RAW in March 2020. On an episode of RAW in July, Seth Rollins and Murphy injured Aleister Black's eye using a steel step, leading to him going off TV for a while. On his return, Aleister Black turned heel and had a heated feud against Kevin Owens.