WWE NXT Superstar Aleister Black was recently a guest on former WWE Superstar Sean “X-Pac” Waltman’s podcast, X-Pac 12360, to talk about his professional wrestling career. Thanks to TK Trinidad for sending us the following:
Having hidden messages on his t-shirts: “I’ve used a lot of symbolism that I knew will evoke a reaction as well. Why? Because I know what works. Simple as that. One of the funny things is and not a lot people to this day realize but the old Sumerian death squad shirt had a hidden message in all of them, and I am not gonna tell them about any but there’s hidden messages in my shirt that a lot of people didn’t pick up on.”
The time Chris Hero called him about working for PWG: “All of a sudden in 2014-15, I started touring through America more, and all of a sudden Chris Hero hits me up, and says “Hey man, I saw you’re here.” (America). He’s my wrestling dad (Chris) to an extent. If it wasn’t for him, a lot of who I am, training wise, wrestling wise & where I’ve been, would not be possible. So, shout out to Kassius Ohno (Chris Hero). He messaged me saying “Hey, so you’re coming to Wrestlemania weekend, I got this for you. PWG is interested in you, are you interested?” I’m like “WOW!” I mean yes.”
His merchandise keeps selling out.: “They started with the white shirts, and funny enough they (WWE) couldn’t keep track of it. It kept selling out, it kept selling out every time. I said, “Are you guys going to put the black shirts in.” I was told no because the white shirts keep selling, we (WWE) don’t have to cause white shirts keep selling. That’s what the process was.”
Transition from MMA into Pro Wrestling: “To a lot of MMA fighters, Pro Wrestling is a very popular thing and I’m very thankful for them to try and make the transition into professional wrestling. But then they figure out its not as easy as a lot of people think. Just because you have a good athletic background doesn’t make you necessarily a good wrestler. Cause it takes a lot to be a good professional wrestler.”
Being authentic and connecting with the audience : “I feel like in order for something to connect to an audience there needs to be a form of authenticity. I feel that if you want people to go, “Oh I get him.”, You have to have lived it. If you haven’t lived through it then you can’t tell the story. That’s what we do. It’s one giant story.”
How his character relates to the fans: “I think professional wrestling will always be a reflection of how society is. I think that who I am translates very well in 2017; because a lot of young kids look up to me and go like, “Man. He’s different.” You know? I feel different. I’m an individual and they’re individuals. Everyone’s an individual and individuality is such a strong thing in our society so that translates into wrestling. And here comes this guy and they’ve never seen anything like me before. I’m covered in tattoos head to toe, I have this striking style, I’m smaller than most competitors, and people are like, “Yeah. That’s my guy.” Why? Because they can see part of themselves in me.”
You can also listen to the full episode by visiting this link.
