10 WWE Wrestlers PROMISED Titles (That Never Got Them)
9. Aleister Black - United States Championship
Whilst he had a palpable impact on NXT, Aleister Black’s time on WWE’s main roster never felt as though it got properly started before he was released. According to Black though, it wasn’t as if the WWE writing room was ignoring him. They made plans but most never came to fruition. Speaking on a livestream in 2020, Black revealed:
“Funny story, there was a moment where I was actually supposed to win the US Title, but then Vince's consensus were 'I don't wanna have him have his first title win in front of no audience'.”
It’s hard to know if this move was made out of genuine concern for Black’s career or, perhaps, as an excuse to keep him away from establishing himself. After all, whilst Paul Heyman was famously in favour of Black’s skills, his heavily-tattooed and death metal persona don’t scream the hallmarks of a Vince McMahon Project.
Furthermore, this reasoning falls apart when you realise many first-time main roster champions, such as Drew McIntyre and Rhea Ripley, were crowned in front of the screens of WWE’s ThunderDome.
In fact, Zelina Vega (Black’s wife) said in an appearance with the Chasing Glory podcast that he was due to win the title from her on-screen client Andrade. For the man who did so, Apollo Crews, it was his first title win and it was with no crowd in attendance. So what gives?