Aleister Black details locker room reaction to WWE return

Aleister Black recently opened up about his WWE return and shared what the backstage environment was like in the company. The veteran spent the past several years as the leader of The House of Black in All Elite Wrestling before departing the promotion in February.

In an interview with The Atomic Drop, Black discussed his return to the promotion. He noted that he was previously in WWE for eight years and stated that nothing compares to the company's locker room.

"I was in that system for eight years and it is a completely different system than anything else. Nothing is like WWE, no locker room I've ever been in, and it just felt like this is what it's supposed to be for me, you know?" said Black.

The former NXT Champion added that he was nervous ahead of his return, but those feelings subsided when he realized that everybody was pulling in the same direction backstage.

"But then once you walk around and you get a feel of everything, you’ll say to yourself, 'hey man, you know all these people, you know all this and everybody's just going around doing what they always do and everything is just right,' it works, everything runs so smoothly. Then, we get ready for the show, and here we go, rock and roll, everybody's heading in the same direction and that’s just a really good feeling," he added.

Aleister Black returned on the April 25 edition of WWE SmackDown to attack The Miz. LA Knight defeated the former AEW star and Shinsuke Nakamura in a Money in the Bank Triple Threat qualifying match this past Friday night on the blue brand.

Former WWE manager claims he doesn't understand Aleister Black's gimmick

Wrestling legend Dutch Mantell recently commented on Aleister Black's return to the company.

Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's BroDown show, Mantell criticized Aleister Black and stated that he was a lost cause. Mantell added that he didn't understand the 40-year-old's gimmick and noted that he wasn't a fan of his work in All Elite Wrestling.

"This is his second trip to WWE, right? I think he's, he's already a lost cause, to tell you the truth. I just do. I didn't like him in AEW. I don't know the guy, but I'm saying, but his in ring deal, I don't get it. I do not get his gimmick at all, unless it appeals to the kids,'' Mantell said. [From 16:50 onwards]

You can check out Mantell's comments in the video below:

Aleister Black has never captured a title on the promotion's main roster. It will be interesting to see what the company has planned for Black on SmackDown moving forward.