Backstage Update On Aleister Black's Continued Absence From WWE TV

WWE News - Update On Aleister Black's WWE Absence!

Aleister Black
WWE

When looking at how painful the current WWE product so often is right now – here’s looking at you, Monday Night Raw! – it’s ridiculous to think that WWE has someone as talented as Aleister Black sat on the sidelines.

The last time that audiences saw Black was in a losing effort against Kevin Owens on the 12 October 2020 episode of Raw. That same night, the former Tommy End was shifted over to the SmackDown brand as part of the WWE Draft.

Since then, though, Black hasn’t made a single appearance on WWE’s blue brand programming.

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In a new report from Fightful Select, the one-time NXT Champion has not been seen backstage at SmackDown since his wife Zelina Vega was released from the company in early November.

If you remember, Vega was released as part of WWE’s crackdown on third party platforms – in this case, the real-life Thea Trinidad’s Twitch channel.

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The Fightful report suggests that there is no particular issue directly between WWE and Aleister Black, with one source believing that Black’s absence is part of the process of letting both parties cool down after the firing of Vega.

As and when Aleister Black returns to WWE TV remains to be seen, but the impending Royal Rumble PPV could well be an ideal spot to bring him back into the fold if possible.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.