Aleister Black has responded following news of his release from WWE along with five other Superstars including former WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful broke the news on Twitter that releases were coming and has reported that several surprising names are among those leaving the company. Strowman is leaving alongside Aleister Black who has been prominently featured on SmackDown in recent weeks as well as Ruby Riott, Santana Garrett, Lana, and Buddy Murphy. The news has since been confirmed by WWE.
Black had recently began appearing in vignettes on SmackDown where he would talk about the ‘Dark Father’ in menacing tones. The vignettes began after months of inactivity for Black on the WWE roster. His last match came on the 12th of October episode of Raw where he was defeated by Kevin Owens in a No Disqualification match.
In response to the news of his release, Aleister Black took to social media to express his surprise at the news that he says came out of “left field.”
Black tweeted:
“Im gathering my thoughts as this was a complete left field for me as obviously we just started the dark father character but this was it, thank you so much WWE universe for allowing me to create and give you small bits of myself.”
Im gathering my thoughts as this was a complete left field for me as obviously we just started the dark father character but this was it, thank you so much WWE universe for allowing me to create and give you small bits of myself.
— Malakai Black (@malakaiblxck) June 2, 2021
Black’s wife Thea Trinidad, who competed in WWE as Zelina Vega was released from WWE in November 2020 but recent reports had suggested she could be in line for a return to the company.
Aleister Black’s only gold during his time in WWE came in 2018 when he defeated another recent WWE departee Andrade at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans for the NXT Championship. Black held that title for three months before losing it to Tomasso Ciampa.
Before his time in WWE, Black competed on the independent scene in Europe, Japan, and the US as Tommy End.