More on Aleister Black’s Release from WWE & Black’s Comments

More on Aleister Black’s Release from WWE

As noted before, Aleister Black was among those release by WWE on Wednesday.

Fightful Select reported that many people behind-the-scenes associated with putting together Black’s storyline for his return to the SmackDown brand were not informed ahead of time by WWE officials of their plans to release him. It was also reported that WWE’s creative writers were recently informed to stop making creative pitches for Black but were also not told the reason why.

In regards to Black’s feud with Big E, it was reported that WWE officials did not have any long-term endgame plans for the feud prior to Black’s release.

Post Wrestling’s John Pollock reported that one possible reason for Black’s release might have been due to his return to the SmackDown brand “did not go smoothly” as WWE officials had expected based on one source spoken to within the company.


Aleister Black Comments on His WWE Release, Vince McMahon, Creative Issues, & More

Following his release, Aleister Black held a stream session on his wife Zelina Vega’s Twitch channel to discuss a variety of topics related to his release and career in WWE.

Some of the highlights included:

  • Black stated that he was told by WWE officials that his release was due to “budget cuts” reasons.
  • Black also stated that a new entrance theme for him had been created for his return to SmackDown and feels sad that he never got the chance to use it.
  • In regards to his lengthy absence from WWE programming, Black stated that he was initially only planned to be away for a few weeks but it ended up being seven months instead. He stated that it felt like a “slow death” for his character and career in the company.
  • In regards to his new feud with Big E on SmackDown, Black stated that all he had been told about for plans was that it would have kicked off at this Friday’s episode of SmackDown.
  • On the topic of his new “Dark Father” gimmick, Black stated “I was excited for the Dark Father stuff. It was mostly created by myself. I wrote a lot of the content. Slowly but surely it would unfold into more understanding of what I was talking about. It wasn’t as cryptic as it was before, which was not my choice … We just couldn’t nail down what Aleister was on the main roster compared to NXT. Where that problem lied, I don’t know. When I was under Heyman’s wing, he fought tooth and nail for me. When a decision is made, it’s made. Heyman and I tried our best. With the room promos, I didn’t have control over those and I tried my best. “
  • On the topic of his backstage conversations with Vince McMahon during his WWE career, Black stated “being on the main roster, in all my conversations with Vince, he was always positive,” Black said. “I had a good relationship with Vince. I always told him how I felt and he respected that about me. He always praised me on my creativity and manners of respect but being honest about how I felt. From my point of view, I always felt Vince was always high on me.”
  • Besides Vince McMahon, Black also thanked WWE’s creative team, Triple H, Bruce Britchard, Paul Heyman, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Rowan, and Brodie Lee for their help during his time in the company. He also stated that Roman Reigns was one of the best locker room leaders he has ever been around with during his career.
  • In regards to the reports of him asking to be sent down to NXT during his absence from WWE programming, Black stated that those reports were not true. He did state that McMahon wanted to see how his new character would fare on the main roster before making any potential decision to send him back to NXT.
  • Black also stated that the rumors and reports of McMahon not being fond of his Black character on the main roster were also not true.

Transcript h/t: F4WOnline, Fightful 1