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Former WWE NXT Champion Aleister Black had a great run in the Black and Gold brand, which he joined in 2016, after years of wrestling in the independent circuit.
The Dutch Superstar had spent over a decade wrestling in Europe in various independent wrestling promotions, which is where he met a WWE Hall of Famer and one of the greats of the pro wrestling industry - Road Warrior Animal.
Black, in a recent interview, spoke about his interactions with Animal and how it was him that told Black to join WWE.
Aleister Black says Road Warrior Animal told him to join WWE
In his recent appearance on the Table Talk podcast, Aleister Black reminisced about Road Warrior Animal, calling him one of the greats.
He revealed that it was him who told Black to join WWE:
“He was actually the first person to tell me to go to WWE. I tagged with him for a company in Germany called Westside Xtreme Wrestling which was my home company at the time. And they did these shows called Superstars of Wrestling, where they would bring in former, current, legends — basically, anyone who’s anyone in wrestling and still is, they bring and they run these shows with them." (H/T 411Mania)
Black revealed that he had teamed with Animal in a six-man tag team match and said that Animal was "soft-spoken, very kind". He said that he bonded with Animal on that day, and that their future meetings after that initial conversation had Animal offering him advice.
He also revealed that he still uses the advice that Road Warrior Animal imparted to him on that day, while he also imparts that knowledge to his students.
Road Warrior Animal sadly passed away last month at the age of 60. Numerous tributes have poured in from past and present wrestlers, with Drew McIntyre recently paying homage to the Road Warriors as well.
Sportskeeda's Chris Featherstone recently spoke to Road Warrior Animal's wife Kim, who opened up about many things of her late husband. You can watch that video above.
Road Warrior Animal wasn't just fantastic in the ring, but a great person outside it as well.
