'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Now that Aleister Black is firmly established on WWE's main roster, it's a fitting time to take a look back at his impressive run in the Black and Gold Brand. Black's time in NXT successfully allowed him to transition from the North American and European independent pro-wrestling scenes to the sports entertainment juggernaut that is WWE.
Black, the former Tommy End from the surrounding region outside Amsterdam, Holland, toiled for years in the indies before becoming one of a long list of names signed by Triple H between 2014 and 2018. However, unlike many of his peers who've been critiqued as bland and unintimidating, Black brought more than just flips and high work rate to the table. The 6-foot plus tattoo-laden martial artist was different. Black possessed a dark, brooding persona that immediately drew comparisons to The Undertaker.
An extension of his reported real life interests (which apparently includes a relatively benign, philosophical version of satanism), the Aleister Black character would put a modern spin on 'Taker and other dark, morbid wrestling characters of the past by incorporating less magical powers and more kickboxing skills.
Between Takeover: Orlando ('Mania 33 weekend) and Takeover: New York ('Mania 35 weekend), Black would engage in multiple evenly-matched and entertaining feuds that made his contribution to the NXT brand one of the most memorable in its history.
These are the top 10 NXT moments for the 'Dutch Destroyer' Aleister Black.
#10 A Solid Debut
Coming into NXT with less hype than other so-called 'indie darlings' who entered with great fanfare between 2015-18, Aleister Black debuted in a solid mid-card match against the Mexican luchador Andrade 'Cien' Almas. Upon his debut, Black let his look and ring work speak for themselves.
After entering the stage on a body-elevating ramp, Mr. Black, dressed in all leather trunks and boots with matching vest, made his way to the ring and impressed the NXT Universe with his patented mid-rope backflip/tailor-fashion sitdown.
His facial expression was calm and meditative throughout the match, underscoring the mysterious character that lay beneath the kickboxing and Pencak Silat martial arts blows. His ability to nail conventional pro-wrestling maneuvers like moonsaults and suplexes also showed him to be a highly talented performer.
However, it was the brilliant moment when Black lifted Almas' face with his boot and destroyed him with his Black Mass roundhouse kick finisher that truly foretold his inevitable rise to stardom.
#9 A Memorable Entrance
For his second-ever TakeOver match, Aleister Black strolled into the Barclays Center in Brooklyn not like a professional wrestler, but as a well-developed character in a suspense-thriller film.
Emerging from a lifting ramp in a haze of smoke, Black was flanked by members of the black metal bands Incendiary and Code Orange, who performed his theme music "The Root of All Evil," as he slowly made his entrance. With darkness covering the arena and lit candles placed on the stage floor, the mood was perfectly set for the biggest NXT event of the year, Takeover: Brooklyn III.
Black's backing band tremendously enhanced the allure of his intro by performing the hard-hitting theme live, each beat pounding with a sense of intensity and fury. This perfectly complimented Black's stoic, emotionless demeanor and contrasted well with his in-ring personification of a skilled fighter hellbent on exacting punishment on any opponent that stepped in his way, including a Japanese kickboxer.
# 8 A Serious Problem
In mid 2017, Japanese Superstar Hideo Itami, who suffered back to back sidelining injuries during NXT's rise from small developmental league to the "hottest brand in sports entertainment," felt left in the dust. Having lost clean to champion Bobby Roode upon his return to the ring at Takeover: Chicago, Itami quickly shifted from babyface to bitter heel. Itami was determined to make everyone acknowledge and respect him.
Unfortunately, Itami made this declaration during an Aleister Black match entrance. When Itami gestured that he was leaving the ring, Black turned his back, allowing Itami to think it was the perfect moment for an assault from behind, only for Black to make him Fade To Black with a Black Mass as soon Itami attempted an attack.
When Black later surfaced in a backstage segment outside Full Sail's television studio, Itami returned the favor by lunging at Black out of nowhere, only for Black to dodge and kick Itami into into a steel roll-up gate. Although NXT officials subsequently separated the two trained kickboxers, it was clear they had a serious problem that could only be settled at Takeover: Brooklyn III. In the meantime, this segment made for a great sense of realism.
#7 A Decapitation
In what may have been the greatest Black Mass in the history of Aleister Black's career, he surprisingly stunned Johnny Gargano in the middle of a promo on the August 1st, 2018 episode of the weekly NXT show.
For context, Black had just lost the NXT Championship due to outside interference by Gargano that inadvertently helped despicable heel challenger Tomasso Ciampa win the title. When Ciampa came out to celebrate the following week, he was interrupted by Black, who made his signature slow entrance and was subsequently interrupted himself, as Gargano ran past him on the entrance stage and attacked Ciampa in the ring.
With Ciampa having left the ringside area by going through the crowd, Gargano got on the mic and insisted that Ciampa was only in NXT because of him and had only become champion because of him, as well.
Aleister Black obviously agreed, and consequently decapitated Gargano with a vicious Black Mass kick for costing him the title. Full Sail NXT attendees naturally followed up with a well-earned "you deserve it!" chant to Gargano.
#6 A Shocking Return
On the October 17th, 2018 episode of WWE NXT, Nikki Cross faced Bianca Belair in a heated main event that would devolve into one of the most intriguing moments in the history of the developmental brand's weekly show. Cross, playing the role of instigating, menacing lunatic, had insisted for weeks that she held a secret involving the identity of the culprit who attacked Aleister Black in the days before Takeover: Brooklyn 4, leading to his inability to perform in the main event (in reality, a groin injury at a live event was the actual reason).
As soon as the Cross/Belair match climaxed with a superplex off the top rope, both women lay on the ring canvas in pain, giving Black the perfect moment to channel his inner Undertaker. Full Sail went dark for several moments, only for Black to suddenly appear in the ring once the lights came back on, posing in his signature sitting position, with Belair and the referee nowhere in sight.
The mysterious Black, clearly intent on finding the assailant that cost him his championship opportunity, angrily insisted on identifying his attacker by exclaiming "Tell me!" to Cross. With both Superstars firmly in character, Cross slowly crawled toward Black and whispered in his ear, leaving 'The Dutch Destroyer' visibly irate, as his face began to boil like a steaming pot of stew.
#5 A Street Fight
In the weeks before Takeover: Philadelphia (Royal Rumble 2018 weekend), NXT general manager William Regal scheduled four singles matches between the brand's top performers, with the winners of each match set to face off in a Fatal 4-Way for the chance at an NXT Title match in the City of Brotherly Love.
Unfortunately, Aleister Black, who had been undefeated since his debut at Takeover: Orlando, suffered his first lost as The Undisputed Era interfered in the match in order to help faction leader Adam Cole, leading to Black being pinned by Johnny Gargano.
An angry Black, disappointed at missing out on a championship opportunity, naturally responded by going after The Undisputed Era, insisting that that it was Cole who "brought me to this realm", leading to a special Street Fight at Takeover.
With all the intensity of a main event (despite being the second to last match), Black and Cole used forearms, kicks and weapons to viciously punish each other for 22 minutes. Cole superkicked Black onto twin tables and struck him with a kendo stick in the abdomen mid-moonsault. Both maneuvers were dangerously impressive, but Black's fireman's carry slam of Cole's spine directly onto two upright chairs and his double knee strike onto the Spanish announce table took the cake for the evening's most brutal moments.
#4 A Match Made In...Hell?
On the July 25th, 2018 episode of NXT, Tomasso Ciampa secured a title match for the NXT Championship to the chagrin of the NXT Universe and frankly, all that is good in the world. The dastardly Ciampa had been causing complete and total chaos in NXT since returning from an injury at the top of the year, and his ascent to the throne of the brand as its champion would only be a nightmare come to life, especially for Johnny Gargano.
Nonetheless, the fearless champion Aleister Black refused to back down and defended his title in front of the studio audience at Full Sail University,
Picking up pace as the time went on, Black and Ciampa would inevitably put on a Takeover level classic, brutalizing each other with strikes and signature maneuvers galore. When referee Drake Younger took a nasty bump to the outside, however, Johnny Gargano, fearing the scenario of a monster becoming NXT Champion, interfered to stop the madness, only to inadvertently contribute to it by accidentally striking Black with the NXT Title, leading to a Ciampa victory.
Although he lost his title, Black put on what is arguably the best match of his entire NXT career that night, solidifying his short but sweet NXT championship run as a memorable one.
#3 An Unlikely Duo
NXT Takeover: Phoenix took place in January 2019. Aleister Black and Ricochet both found themselves on the short end of Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa's two year revolving feud. Ricochet, facing off against a morally conflicted Gargano, lost his North American Title once Gargano decided to flirt with the dark side due to Ciampa getting in his head. Black, having lost the NXT Title to Ciampa the previous summer, failed to recapture the gold in a rematch during the main event.
Naturally then, despite the contrast in styles between the relatively upbeat, high-flying Ricochet and the mysterious, hard-hitting Black, it made sense for the two fan favorites to join together against common foes in the reformed heel version of DIY.
From the outset, they rocked WWE's Halftime Heat Superbowl intermission in a phenomenal Six-Man Tag Match with Velveteen Dream against Ciampa, Gargano, and Adam Cole, which led them to enter the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic thereafter.
Competing as a cohesive unit, Blackochet went on to defeat the teams of Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel, DIY, and The Forgotten Sons to win the tournament and its prestigious trophy, but their greatest moment together would happen at Takeover: New York.
Black's partnership with Ricochet was nothing short of brilliant as they pushed The War Raiders to their absolute limit and nearly captured the NXT Tag Team Championships before gracefully losing to the more experienced team of Hansen and Rowe. Even in defeat, however, their chemistry was top notch, as the duo tore down the house on their final night with the Black and Gold Brand.
#2 A New Champion
At Takeover: New Orleans over WrestleMania 34 weekend, Aleister Black's trials and tribulations at last paid off, as he finally ascended to the top of NXT as its main champion.
Facing off against Andrade 'Cien' Almas in a rematch from exactly one year earlier, the European martial artist and Tranquilo luchador put on a high-quality 18-minute match in the semi-main event, just before Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa's epic war.
Almas, who in the year since his loss to Black at Takeover: Orlando had employed Zelina Vega to help re-launch his then-struggling career, was on a winning streak having defeated Drew McIntyre for the NXT championship at Takeover: War Games and Johnny Gargano in several incredible matches, starting at Takeover: Brooklyn III.
Black, having plowed through Hideo Itami, Velveteen Dream, and Adam Cole at back to back Takeover specials, then defeated Killian Dain on the weekly program for the NXT Title's number one contendership, setting the stage for a rematch with Almas exactly one year in the making.
Although Almas would put on the fight of his life with his patented double moonsault, meteora knee strike, and hammerlock DDT, as well as several instances of outside interference by Vega, Black overcame the odds and demolished Almas with a stunning Black Mass to win the NXT Title. In victory, Black joyfully smiled on camera for the one and only time, as he reached the very top of NXT.
#1 Say My Name
In what was undoubtedly his greatest NXT feud, and one of the most interesting WWE storylines in years, Aleister Black came to blows with Velveteen Dream in the Fall of 2017.
Dream, the former Patrick Clark (a Tough Enough reality show contestant who barely made it into NXT as a jobber before taking on a purple-drenched Prince-influenced character) was hellbent on making a name for himself after becoming regularly featured on the weekly NXT show. What better way to do that then to get the undefeated and mysterious Black, who until then had hardly uttered a word on camera, to say his name!
Purposely provoking Black on numerous occasions in order to bring attention to his fledgling career, 'The Dream' did things like attack Aleister from behind during his stage entrance at Full Sail (by sneakingly hiding behind Black's lifting ramp), and tie his arms up in the ropes in front of the entire NXT Universe, holding him helplessly captive during a beatdown.
Having had enough of Dream's physical assaults and psychological mind games, Black fiercely struck back at Takeover: War Games, putting on a technically proficient and highly entertaining match that had the crowd in Houston, Texas firmly behind both performers.
While Velveteen Dream's amazing character work and vastly improved in-ring abilities stole the majority of fan attention, Aleister Black cemented himself as a major star as well, winning the match by making Dream Fade To Black with a Black Mass, and then, to everyone's delight, uttered "enjoy infamy, Velveteen Dream" afterwards. This was Black's most endearing moment yet.
We want to know what you think of the matches that you see on TV! Go to our WWE page here to rate them!
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
