Why Aleister Black Didn’t Appear On WWE SmackDown This Week

For months fans wondered why Aleister Black was absent from WWE programming, but during last week’s episode of SmackDown he returned in a big way.

Apollo Crews defended the Intercontinental Title against Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Big E in a fatal four way match, and Aleister Black returned out of nowhere then hit Big E with Black Mass, allowing Crews to get the win. Black’s return got a lot of people talking, but when SmackDown aired this week he was nowhere to be seen.

PWInsider reports that a creative decision was made to let the Aleister Black return storyline hang for week, and to not rush the Black/Big E feud, but to let it breathe.

Aleister Black and Big E were both backstage at SmackDown last night, but WWE opted to slow down the story and not put them on TV.

Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.