Aleister Black believed to be AEW-bound, WWE may offer new deal
While Aleister Black was expected to draw interest as a free agent, it wasn’t necessarily expected that the company that just released him would quickly want him back.
In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that there is a “strong belief” that Black (Tom Budgen) will be headed to AEW when his non-compete runs out on August 31st.
However, Meltzer said, “there has been talk in WWE that the company made a mistake in cutting him and may make him an offer to return, so that could change the equation.”
Along with five other wrestlers, Black was surprisingly released due to budget cuts on June 2nd after five years in the WWE system. He had just made his return to TV and was starting an angle with Big E on SmackDown when the release came which surprised even him. His wife, Thea, had been released in November 2020 and has yet to sign with any major wrestling promotion.
On his Twitch stream after the release, Black was complimentary of WWE and his experience there but said the last few years were a slow death for the character.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.