Aleister Black has revealed new details about WWE’s original plan for his return, confirming that the company initially discussed having him answer Randy Orton’s open challenge at WrestleMania 41—before ultimately deciding against it. Speaking with WrestleRant, Black said he is grateful the idea was scrapped, as WWE did not want his comeback to involve taking a loss on the biggest stage of the year.
In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 41 in Fort Worth, Texas, Black had been the subject of heavy speculation thanks to cryptic vignettes teasing his return. Many fans believed he would be the one to confront Orton at the event. That spot eventually went to Joe Hendry, with Black not appearing until the following SmackDown.
Black confirmed WWE creative gave serious consideration to the idea: “They were toying with a bunch of ideas (for his WWE return). I know at one point there was a conversation about ‘Maybe he’s coming back to wrestle Randy Orton at WrestleMania’, and that was an actual thing that was discussed.”
However, the plan was quickly shut down due to concerns about the outcome. WWE did not want to risk Black losing his first match back. “It was counter-argued quickly because they said, ‘Well, we don’t want him to lose coming back at WrestleMania. That doesn’t make any sense.’ So it was just one of those, ‘Oh, maybe we can do that. No, because so and so.’”
Instead, WWE opted to delay his return by several weeks to give him a dedicated moment on SmackDown—an approach Black fully appreciated. “They felt that they wanted to give it the right attention, and they wanted it to be specifically about me, which I’m very grateful for. And what happened happened, and I really enjoyed it. It was a good night. It’s the same night that my wife won her first singles title.”
Since returning, Black has quickly become a central figure on SmackDown and has even been paired on-screen with his wife, Zelina Vega. He recently confronted WWE Champion Cody Rhodes on the November 7 episode of SmackDown, a face-to-face encounter that escalated into a match later that night.
