10 Things You Need To Know About NXT's Aleister Black
6. Struggles In The Dutch Wrestling Scene
Aleister Black was born in Amsterdam, and spent the entirety of his childhood in or around the city. Unfortunately, this wasn’t exactly helpful for somebody wishing to pursue a career in professional wrestling. Holland doesn’t have a particularly strong background in the sport, the independent scene is tiny, and the talent pool is so small that Black is legitimately the most successful wrestler his country has ever produced.
Black spent the first four years of his career training in his homeland, but knew the scene’s infrastructure wasn’t big enough to support his ambitions. Even today, the Dutch indie scene is barely a blip on global wrestling’s radar, and its expansion has been a long, slow process.
Black recognised that he’d have to leave in order to make the most of his career at a very early stage, so that’s exactly what he did. He and his friends started touring neighbouring countries like France and Germany, and Black’s reputation soon saw him competing all around the world.
He became particularly prominent in Germany, where he starred for wXw, the country’s biggest promotion, and has spent the past few years building a great reputation on the burgeoning British wrestling scene. The sport has taken Black further afield, too: he has appeared for American companies like PWG and CZW on a number of occasions, and has also completed a number of tours for Japan’s Big Japan Pro Wrestling.