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Tag: Zelina Vega

  • Aleister Black in Active AEW Negotiations, Despite Reports

    Aleister Black in Active AEW Negotiations, Despite Reports

    Recently released WWE Superstar Aleister Black, known outside the ring Tom Budgen, is in active negotiations with All Elite Wrestling, SEScoops has learned. The development directly contradicts a wave of reporting over the past two weeks that suggested AEW had no interest in welcoming the former House of Black leader back to the company.

    According to a source with direct knowledge of the discussions, those conversations are happening regardless of the public framing. Terms have not been finalized, and no agreement is in place.

    What Public Reporting Had Said

    Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that some inside AEW were unhappy with Black’s previous booking arrangement, pointing to his low loss column and the fact that his desire to leave for WWE had become obvious once Triple H assumed creative control. Meltzer added that AEW’s locker room morale is the strongest it has been in years, and that some talents are uneasy about welcoming back a star whose heart was clearly elsewhere.

    Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select softened that picture but stopped well short of confirming talks. Sapp told subscribers “the bridge is not considered burned there,” while AEW sources he spoke to did not expect a near-term return.

    AEW talent coordinator Shawn Dean publicly answered “No” on social media when a fan floated reuniting the House of Black with Zelina Vega added to the mix. Jim Ross, speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, did not say bridges were burned but cautioned that Black’s “chances are running out,” questioning his reliability outside the ring.

    From WWE to AEW, Then Back, Then Back Again

    Black was among roughly 25 talents released by WWE on April 24 in a sweeping post-WrestleMania 42 roster reduction. The cuts also took out his wife Zelina Vega, the entire Wyatt Sicks faction, Kairi Sane, the Motor City Machine Guns, and Apollo Crews.

    His exit followed speculation, reported by PWInsider’s Mike Johnson, that a power player inside TKO Group Holdings was uncomfortable with horror-inflected character work. That theory has been disputed by other reporting placing the April cuts at the feet of Triple H and Nick Khan for budget reasons.

    If a deal closes, it would mark Black’s third direct jump between WWE and AEW since 2021, putting him in rare company among talent who have moved between the two promotions multiple times. He left WWE for AEW in 2021, returned to WWE on the SmackDown after WrestleMania 41 in April 2025, and would now head back to AEW barely a year later.

    Black led the House of Black during his prior AEW run, holding the AEW World Trios Championship with Brody King and Buddy Matthews. Whether Tony Khan ultimately green-lights the reunion is another question. Resistance from within AEW remains real per the public reporting, and any agreement will require his sign-off. As of this writing, talks are active.

  • TKO Reportedly Behind WWE’s Purge of Dark Characters

    TKO Reportedly Behind WWE’s Purge of Dark Characters

    Spooky WWE

    A backstage rumor making the rounds among WWE talents points to a power player within TKO Group Holdings as the driving force behind the post-WrestleMania 42 releases of several dark-character acts, according to PWInsider’s Mike Johnson.

    “I don’t know if there’s a pattern but I can tell you there’s been a story bouncing around among talents that someone in the TKO realm isn’t a fan of the darker characters and that’s been the blame placed on why The Wyatts, Aleister Black, Zelina, etc. were all cut,” Johnson said on the latest PWInsider Q&A. “One person even suggested to me that Undertaker being The American Badass and not The Deadman in appearances is proof of that outlook.”

    Johnson stressed that PWInsider could not independently verify the claim, but noted the account had been relayed to him multiple times over the past week.

    Who Was Cut

    WWE released more than 20 talents on April 24 in a sweeping post-WrestleMania 42 roster reduction. The departures included every member of the Wyatt Sicks: Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy), Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis, and Nikki Cross. Aleister Black and his wife Zelina Vega were also among those let go.

    Each of those acts shared a common thread: horror-inflected, darker character work. The Wyatt Sicks were built around the creative legacy of the late Bray Wyatt, with Bo Dallas leading the group as Uncle Howdy following his brother’s passing in August 2023. Black and Vega had aligned as a villainous couple with overt dark-arts presentation on SmackDown.

    Zelina Vega noted during a Twitch livestream that her release call came directly from TKO, not WWE’s internal talent relations team, a distinction she highlighted publicly.

    The Undertaker Detail

    The most provocative element of Johnson’s report involves The Undertaker. Per the sources relaying the rumor, TKO’s apparent resistance to supernatural characters is evidenced by the Hall of Famer’s recent appearances in his biker “American Badass” persona rather than the iconic Deadman character he retired in 2020.

    The Deadman gimmick is among the most decorated in WWE history, winning the Wrestling Observer’s Best Gimmick award five consecutive times. The American Badass version, which Undertaker originally adopted in 2000, strips away the supernatural elements in favor of a more grounded, human presentation.

    Context and Caveats

    It is worth noting that a separate report indicated TKO did not mandate the April 24 cuts, with Triple H and Nick Khan identified as the primary decision-makers. Per that account, the reductions were driven by budget considerations rather than a directive from TKO’s ownership level.

    Those two reports are not necessarily contradictory. A preference expressed at the TKO level could influence creative direction without constituting a formal mandate for specific releases. Johnson himself did not name the individual within TKO said to hold the anti-dark-character view.

    Aleister Black’s second WWE run had been building toward a program with Randy Orton before the releases were announced. The Wyatt Sicks, who debuted to significant fan enthusiasm in June 2024, had most recently been feuding with Solo Sikoa’s faction on SmackDown before their contracts were cut.

  • Zelina Vega Posts Emotional Farewell After WWE Release

    Zelina Vega Posts Emotional Farewell After WWE Release

    Zelina Vega has posted an emotional farewell on Instagram following her release from WWE, sharing an open letter addressed to herself alongside a photo of her draped in the Puerto Rican flag.

    Vega, who was among the WWE talents released on April 24, used the letter to reflect on every side of her journey, pairing each low with the high that answered it.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/DXkFJ50ETzK

    She wrote about being told she “wasn’t enough” alongside the family, friends, and fans who made her feel like she was. She recalled being told she was “too small,” countered by those who said her “heart and personality makes you 7ft tall.” She acknowledged the people who told her she wasn’t talented enough, right next to the ones who praised her.

    The letter also touched on darker moments, including being told to end her life and “actually thought about it,” before turning to the fans who told her she helped save their lives or inspire them.

    “All the struggles you overcame. All the tears. All the laughs. All the happiest days of your life,” Vega wrote. “One word: Thankful.”

    She made clear she’s not walking away alone: “I take my husband, family, friends and my fans with me.”

    The letter closed with a defiant message using her real name: “You proved so many people wrong and will continue to do so. It isn’t over until Thea Trinidad says so.”

    Vega’s WWE Career

    Vega first joined WWE in 2017 and became known for her work as a manager for Andrade before establishing herself as a singles competitor. She made history as WWE’s first Queen of the Ring in 2021 and captured the Women’s Tag Team Championship. Her release in 2020 over a dispute regarding third-party platforms like Twitch made national headlines, but she returned to the company in 2021.

    Her farewell adds to a wave of emotional messages from the post-WrestleMania roster cuts, with Rhea Ripley and Chelsea Green among those reacting to the departures, and Kairi Sane also breaking her silence earlier on Saturday.

  • Jordynne Grace Returns to Ring on WWE Main Event

    Jordynne Grace Returns to Ring on WWE Main Event

    Jordynne Grace returned to the ring on April 10, facing Zelina Vega in a match taped for WWE Main Event before SmackDown. The bout marked Grace’s first action since suffering an ankle injury over a month ago.

    Grace last competed on March 6 against Alba Fyre in a Main Event match that never aired. During that bout, her ankle twisted after she leaped to avoid Fyre in the corner.

    Recovery From Ankle Injury

    Following the injury, Grace posted a photo on social media showing herself in a walking boot and wheelchair. Chelsea Green, who was also dealing with an ankle injury at the time, provided the wheelchair.

    Grace’s last televised appearance came on the February 27 episode of SmackDown, where she defeated Candice LeRae. Her return to Main Event signals she has recovered from the ankle issue that kept her out of action for the past five weeks.