Aleister Black Praises Roman Reigns As A Locker Room Leader

Though Aleister Black was released by WWE on June 2, he still speaks highly of his time in the company. 

Shortly after his release, Black discussed his relationship with Vince McMahon and how Vince praised his creativity. He also had kind words to say about Paul Heyman, who was behind Black’s push on Raw during the pandemic era. 

Along with having good things to say about those in the office and behind the scenes, Black also enjoyed his time with those in the locker room. 

“I have great memories of being in NXT and being on the road and going town to town and remembering which crowds were amazing and which were on the down. I think our entire crew, which at the time was Tommaso [Ciampa], Adam [Cole], Johnny [Gargano], [Undisputed Era], that entire crew was very much, ‘Show is over, let’s go back to our rooms and talk or call our wives.’ We’ll sit at the local bar of a second or order some food. For the most part, I just enjoyed shutting myself out because with a lot of us, being around so many people can overload your sensories. It’s nice to go from this massive adrenaline rush to settling back into the room, unwinding, relaxing, and getting ready for the next day,” Black told Matthew Rehwoldt (formerly Aiden English) on Straight Shooting. 

Black continued by saying, “The culture, when it comes to that, is much healthier. [There was a tour] where I sat down with Samoa Joe, who I have known for a long time and he’s always been good to me, and I sat down with Roman as well. It was one of the first times I really felt how great Roman is as a locker room leader. That’s a good memory where we kind of forged a bond and I could pick his brain on a few things. He’s only the guy who carries our business. Same with the Usos. It was good and comfortable. As bad as some of the experiences were, the locker rooms were always great. Our locker rooms were lovely and we had a lot of fun. The men’s locker room was always super cool with each other.”

Black has already found success outside of WWE, signing a sponsorship deal with Hayabusa.

Black has a 90-day non-compete clause but remains active on Twitch while he waits it out. 

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