Aleister Black clarifies rumors about his WWE Saudi Arabia status
According to Aleister Black, his tattoos are no longer a barrier to him competing in Saudi Arabia.
Black was brought to Saudi Arabia this January but did not end up competing in WWE Royal Rumble 2026. There was speculation that his tattoos, which include art of demons, were the reason why he was held out of the match. Black tells The Stunner that the tattoos were once an issue, but that is no longer the case. He was just held out of the Rumble because it was the best thing for his storyline with Randy Orton.
“No, that is not true,” Black said about the rumors why he wasn’t in the Royal Rumble. “I was supposed to be in the Rumble, but then they were going to start myself and Randy, and I felt like, man, if we are going to do that story and we’re going to start in the Royal Rumble, it’s just going to get snowed under. And we don’t want it to just go to waste for them to just be two guys that are being dumped out or anything like that. So why don’t we save it for the weeks to come?
“I think the initial setup of Saudi Arabia, my tattoos did come in question. That is absolute fact. In the initial setting, it was definitely like, ‘Well, we don’t know how they are going to respond.’ I’m talking five years ago when it all first started. That was definitely a conversation at the time I had with Vince [McMahon] and also was brought to me. But that is no longer the case. The last time I was in the ring with R-Truth, even though the segment was small, I was still presented on TV and everything was still pretty much there. My arms were exposed. Obviously, the side of my head is always exposed. You could still see a lot of my tattoos. I think that became just like, ‘Well, because it happened back then perhaps that’s the reason why it happened now.’ But no, that was not the reason why.
“It was, in my opinion, a very smart decision. Because looking back at what me and Randy did, it got its own life on SmackDown in the main event. That little clip between me and Randy where we both sit down at the same time got millions and millions of views. And I don’t know if it would have been able to exist in that way if we would have done it at the Rumble… Now it was able to live on its own, which, obviously, that’s what you want. Because that optimizes it. But no, that was not a thing. But, again, I always see those things or hear about those things, and I always consider it to be coming from a place of genuine care from fans, which I always appreciate. Because it’s a good thing, right? It’s good to know that fans care. It’s always good to know that people care.”
Black has never wrestled in Saudi Arabia but did appear last June for the SmackDown segment he referenced with R-Truth.
The Black-Orton rivalry led to them facing off in the main event of SmackDown two weeks ago. Black won that match, getting help from interference by Drew McIntyre.
Orton has since gone on to win the men’s Elimination Chamber match and secure a WWE Championship shot at WrestleMania 42. McIntyre is the current champion, though he has a title defense against Cody Rhodes this Friday night.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.