Backstage News On Aleister Black's Status In The WWE

Aleister Black has been off WWE TV since his loss to Kevin Owens during the October 12 episode of Monday Night Raw. Since then, he has been moved from Raw to SmackDown in the 2020 WWE Draft, but has yet to make an appearance on the blue brand.

According to Dave Meltzer on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Black "being forgotten about" by WWE brass has nothing to do with the recent release of his wife, Zelina Vega, or with Black's reported interest in returning to NXT.

Meltzer noted that ever since Paul Heyman was fired as Executive Director of Raw back in June, "the people in charge don't see anything in Black" and have been unable to find a meaningful place for him on the card.

In fact, Black was among the two choices to defeat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania earlier this year, according to Meltzer. "When it came down to who should beat Lesnar, who was leaving after Mania, the two choices in Heyman's eyes were Drew [McIntyre] and Black," added Meltzer. Although McIntyre got the main event nod, Heyman intended to "protect Black" and book him like a top flight star after WrestleMania, revealed Meltzer.

Meltzer said that while it's possible for Black to resurrect his WWE career, "it doesn't look good right now" for the former WWE NXT Champion and the fact that Black wasn't a part of the Dual-Brand Battle Royal at last night's Survivor Series Kickoff show was another sign that WWE had "forgotten about him."

Black initially moved over from NXT to Raw back in February 2019.