Report: Aleister Black traveled to Saudi Arabia, not expected in Rumble
Aleister Black reportedly won’t be taking part in the Royal Rumble.
According to a report from PWInsider, Black is in Saudi Arabia but will not be in the men’s Rumble match. Mike Johnson is reporting that the decision was made to hold off on Black’s return to WWE programming and bring him back in a different way on WWE SmackDown.
In 2019, Black did not travel to Saudi Arabia for Super ShowDown in Jeddah that year, with Dave Meltzer reporting his not participating was due to tattoos he has that were “religious in nature.” Black has never wrestled on a show in the country.
Meltzer wrote in the May 27, 2019 edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
“We were told it had to do with tattoos he had that were religious in nature. It wasn’t made clear where the Saudis told WWE he couldn’t appear due to those tattoos, or WWE made the decision thinking the tattoos would offend the hosts.”
Black hasn’t appeared on WWE programming since dropping an Ambulance Match to Damian Priest on the January 2, 2026 episode of SmackDown.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.