Ex-WWE Star Blasts "F***ing Dud Of A Year" (WWE News)
Former WWE man wondered what the hell management was even thinking during brief return.
Released ex-WWE star Aleister/Malakai Black discussed his departure from the company, some abandoned WrestleMania plans and more during an appearance on the ZELVX and CHARLIE GIRL podcast with real-life wife Xelina (Selina Vega) and fellow WWE alumni Charlie (Dakota Kai).
Throughout, Black referenced a tentatively booked 'Mania program vs. Randy Orton that never happened, and called his return to the promotion a "f***ing dud of a year". To recap, Aleister rejoined WWE in April 2025, and was expected to make a major splash before shockingly dwindling down the card before being cut loose just one year later in April 2026.
On screen, he'd worked an extensive feud with Damian Priest and joined forces with Zelina. Sadly, that package went precisely nowhere, but Black kept plugging away and trying to be creative. At one point, he even had a bespoke smoking jacket designed that had a device inside Vega could trigger remotely - once she did, smoke would've emerged from the gear during Aleister's entrance.
That would've looked cool, but he never got to use it on WWE TV/PLE.
On his year back with WWE, Black added: "I can pretend that it didn’t suck, but of course it sucks. In my case, it sucked harder because of the mountains of things that were promised in all the other conversations, and then being presented with this f***ing dud of a year".
He also went on to say that management kept booking things that made Aleister question why they even wanted to see them in the first place. Overall, his 12 month return post-AEW was a hollow experience.