Zelina Vega Details Husband Aleister Black's Fear About WWE Return

Following weeks of cryptic teases, the WWE return of Aleister Black became official on the April 25 episode of "WWE SmackDown" when he emerged from the darkness and laid out The Miz with a Black Mass. While exhilarating in the aftermath, Black's wife and fellow WWE star Zelina Vega revealed that his comeback initially came with a fear.

"He did [have a fear fans weren't going to remember him]," Vega told "Busted Open Radio," "but you know that old saying of your wife is always right? I was like 'You don't understand. Do you know who you are? You're cool.' You don't just have a character like that and forget about them. It's not like he's an easy [person] to forget especially because he was on TV, so it wasn't he disappeared off the face of the earth. But I understand for him, he's like 'Well, we have all these younger fans coming in, the little fans,' so he's like 'Maybe they don't know who I am.' And I'm like 'Regardless of if they know who you are or not, you look cool, so they're going to care.'"

Black previously wrestled for WWE from 2016 until June 2021 when he received a release from the company. The next month, Black came aboard to All Elite Wrestling, where he later enjoyed one reign as AEW World Trios Champion alongside Brody King and Buddy Matthews. Black's AEW contract reportedly expired in February 2025, paving the way for a resurgence in WWE. To Black's surprise, his resurgence was met with a sea of cheers from the live audience in Texas.

"[Black] was like 'I'm just going to go in there, hope for the best, and be in the moment, see what happens.' By the second 'welcome back' [chant], I could see it in his face that he was like 'Wow, they like me. They remember.'"

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.