Aleister Black made a statement on Friday Night SmackDown last week when he took out two-time WWE Champion The Miz. Black was terminated by The Sports Entertainment Juggernaut in 2021. He then worked for AEW under the ring name Malakai Black. While there, he led The House of Black stable, and held the AEW World Trios Championship once. In WWE, he was never able to hoist a title on the main roster. In February 2025, however, Black parted ways with AEW.
Aleister Black’s Wife Zelina Vega Says He Was Ready to Come Home
Zelina Vega had a beautiful weekend last week. On the WrestleMania fallout episode of SmackDown, she got her well-deserved United States Title match against Chelsea Green. The former LWO member defeated Green, winning her first singles belt in WWE. The icing on the cake was that it was the same night her husband returned after four years.
Vega told “Busted Open” that it truly was a “fairytale ending,” believing a new chapter has commenced in her career. She revealed that Aleister Black met WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque backstage during the show. The Game embraced his former NXT pupils. The new champion also noted that her husband was ready for this moment.
“I think he was so ready for that. He was so ready to return home. My favorite part, obviously seeing him go out there and do what he does, but Hunter [Triple H] hugging him after and saying, ‘Welcome home’ was really nice,” Zelina Vega said. [H/T: Fightful]
Despite a promising character, Aleister Black did not find much success during his first stint with WWE. This is a second chance at achieving greatness.
Black recently revealed WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker is someone who connected with his character. The former AEW star recounted some advice the retired legend gave him. Perhaps the most important one was related to his character. ‘Taker urged the former NXT Champion to “force people” to sell his character, as it is a very unique one.
The 39-year-old is interestingly not the only AEW star to jump ship in recent times. Within the past couple of years, major names such as Jade Cargill, Ricky Saint, Ethan Page, Penta, and Rey Fenix have all jumped ship. Meanwhile, much like Aleister Black, superstars like CM Punk, Andrade, and Rusev now have a second chance in WWE.
It remains to be seen what these former WWE Superstars make of the opportunity that has been given to them.