Earlier this year, Aleister Black made his much-awaited WWE return.
After WrestleMania 41, on the 25th April episode of SmackDown, Aleister Black made his SmackDown return and involved himself in a feud against The Miz and Carmelo Hayes. However, soon after he feuded with The A-Lister and Hayes, Black’s SmackDown run started going downhill. With him losing his Money in the Bank qualification chance on 23rd May and losing against LA Knight on the 6th June episode of SmackDown, fans and wrestling critics started observing a lack of character development in his gimmick.
On the latest episode of the Brodown podcast, wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell publicly blasted Black’s ongoing WWE run and expressed his confusion over his character and gimmick. Sharing his thoughts on the podcast, he said,
“They’re pushing, this is a guy, what’s his name – Black? Aleister Black. Guys, I don’t get it. I don’t think you could get that guy over if you took him on a sixty-foot building and pushed him. And they pushed him for like at least five weeks. And when he goes to the ring, he’s just there. What is he? A heel or a babyface? What is he or is he just there?”
H/t Sportskeeda
On this week’s episode of SmackDown, Black also shared a heated encounter with Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker, hinting toward a future rivalry.
Aleister Black Once Recalled An Important Advice He Received From Bray Wyatt
In an interview with Wrestling the Rap Game, which was recorded before his WWE return, Aleister Black opened up on important advice he once received from late WWE star Bray Wyatt.
“I miss Bray, so much. I grabbed my phone the other day and I was scrolling through my messages and I found one of my old conversations with him. I used to send him these messages with ideas and stuff, and one of the last things he ever said to me was, ‘Don’t let them tell you who you are. Stand for what you stand for.’ At the time, I was mentally not doing great. I was like, ‘This idea, that idea, what do you think I should go with?’
He’s like, ‘It doesn’t matter. Just don’t let them tell you what you need to do. You’ll know what you need to do. Stand your ground and don’t let them shake you into something you don’t feel comfortable with. This is who you are and what you do, so stick to it.’ That is relevant today, in certain aspects. Sometimes you have to fight for what you believe in, and sometimes you have to let it go. In certain aspects, some of that is still true to this day. It’s one of the last things we spoke about and it’s still one of the most truest things he said.”
In other news: WWE fans in the UK face a risk of a £1,000 fine.