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Malakai Black on his ‘dud year’ back in WWE after ‘mountains’ of promises

Live coverage and related reports for Malakai Black on his ‘dud year’ back in WWE after ‘mountains’ of promises.

AI Story Summary

What happened?

Malakai Black says his second run in WWE as Aleister Black fell short of expectations despite early momentum. He began with a SmackDown winning streak but was left out of high-profile opportunities, lost a prolonged feud with Damian Priest, and failed to secure a steady midcard title role before exiting after WrestleMania 42. He has since restarted his career on the U.K. independent scene, including capturing the Progress Wrestling Men’s World Championship.

Key Takeaways

Black views his second WWE stint as a disappointing, underdelivered period.
He opened with a winning streak on SmackDown but was omitted from Money in the Bank and King of the Ring.
He engaged in a lengthy feud with Damian Priest which he lost.
Despite a couple of shots at United States Champion Ilja Dragunov, he never became a regular midcard title contender in WWE.
Following his post–WrestleMania 42 exit, he returned to the U.K. independent scene and won the Progress Wrestling Men’s World Championship.

AI Timeline

Before WWE return

Black had a controversial run in AEW prior to rejoining WWE.

Return to WWE

Reintroduced as Aleister Black, he started with a winning streak on SmackDown.

Missed opportunities

Was not placed in the Money in the Bank ladder match or the King of the Ring tournament.

Feud with Damian Priest

Entered a long program with Damian Priest that culminated in a loss.

U.S. title shots

Had a couple of opportunities against United States Champion Ilja Dragunov but did not secure the title or a sustained midcard position.

Exit and indie restart

Left WWE after WrestleMania 42 and relaunched his career on the U.K. independent scene, winning Progress Wrestling’s top title.

Model: gpt-5-mini•Generated: Sep 18, 8:30 PM

Sources Covering This Story

Cageside Seats

Timeline

Sep 18, 8:17 PM

Malakai Black on his ‘dud year’ back in WWE after ‘mountains’ of promises

Cageside Seats • WWE

After a pretty controversial run in AEW, most of us expected Malakai Black to get a decent push in his second stint with WWE as Aleister Black. He started with a winning streak on SmackDown, but the writing was probably on the wall when he didn’t make it into the Money in the Bank ladder match or the King of the Ring tournament. What followed was a long feud with Damian Priest he ultimately lost, and despite a couple shots at then United States champ Ilja Dragunov, Black never really found himself in the midcard title mix. Even with those signs, Black’s post-WrestleMania 42 exit was a shocker. That’s probably why the 41-year-old Dutchman hasn’t said too much about his second WWE run and release while restarting his career on the independent scene in the United Kingdom. Malakai Black, Progress Wrestling Men's World Champion#ProgressWrestling pic.twitter.com/S5ccePp7fp — PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) September 6, 2026 But Black opened up a little bit on his experience workin

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