Current WWE star Aleister Black explains why he never chose an MMA career.
Last week on the 25th April episode of SmackDown, fans witnessed the long-awaited return of former NXT and AEW Trios Champion Aleister Black, aka Malakai Black. The returning star engaged in a segment with The Miz, which concluded with him dropping The A-Lister with The Black Mass.
A seasoned striker, Black, however, never entered the world of MMA. Despite being trained in ‘kickboxing and muay-thai’, the former AEW Trios Champion recalled an incident when he almost chose the combat sports industry over professional wrestling.
Black, expressing his hesitation to replace an individual who had committed their life to the sport, offered the following statement:
“No, God no. There was talk, back in the day, I have to be completely honest that I don’t know if it was during or right before I went to WWE. It was Glory and I think, at some point, the conversation turned to Bellator. I was like, ‘Guys, I am not a trained MMA guy.
I do kickboxing and muay-thai,’ back then it was kickboxing, I transitioned to muay-thai later. I don’t know how to grapple. I know some shoot holds and some wrestling because of what I do in the ring, I know some holds, but if you put me with anyone with the slightest capability of grappling, I’d be done. Put up a good fight, though.”
The former NXT Champion further stated,
“That was a little bit of a rumbling, I just didn’t want to do it. In the event that I would have picked Glory, I feel I would have been disrespecting the sport. I would take up a spot of someone who has dedicated their entire life to being (a fighter). Glory is a massive stage.
I would take a spot and I would feel so bad and I wouldn’t want to disrespect my coaches and trainers. I will always train martial arts, but competing is something I let the pros do.”
Now, officially listed on SmackDown, he is due to face The Miz on the May 2nd episode.
WWE Star Aleister Black Recalls Important Advice He Once Received From Bray Wyatt
In an interview with Wrestling the Rap Game before WrestleMania 41, 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: Two popular AEW stars have brought back the classical Killswitch Engage theme.
Additionally, a former WWE star is now a part of the TNA roster.