Aleister Black is a character known for his mystique. His brooding demeanor has made him a fan favorite throughout his time with the yellow-rope rebellion of WWE.
Now that Aleister is transitioning to the main brands of WWE, he uncharacteristically opened up about the love he has for NXT and the impact the brand has had on his life in a new Instagram post:
“It’s been a ride NXT, a hell of a ride. In less than three years I went from psychological and physical problems, anxiety and panic attacks to thriving in a high-stress environment. The majority of you only see the actual in-ring work and none of what goes around or behind it. I can tell you with full conviction that if you knew how this world truly works the majority of you wouldn’t have such a high strong opinion nor give the criticism that some of you give. You think you know, but you really don’t. I often sit back and realize how quickly life moves and how fast things come and go and just like that the era of NXT has come to an end. In the entire period I left people behind, people left me behind, I got rid of toxic people and I gained a new outlook on life. After tons of therapy and life coaching by the wonderful @carla_bruins, I am finally moving away from old habits because the truth is that I myself have been a very toxic individual for years that couldn’t move past his childhood and events that occurred in teenage years. If all you know is lies and deceit you become lies and deceit to understand your anger and sadness. I used to call myself the king of self-sabotage and if you tell yourself something long enough you’ll believe it and don’t move away from it. I still deal with a lot [of] guilt for things I have done to others as well as strangely feeling guilty for letting others do that to me as well, it’s like you let yourself get compromised but do nothing about it to change it, until a few months back when I learned to slowly forgive myself thanks to aforementioned person.”
Aleister would go on to praise his wife, SmackDown Superstar Zelina Vega, for changing his perspective on life. In the end, Aleister credited the support of the WWE Universe and stressed the importance of their support to his success.: