Aleister Black Reveals Why WWE Scrapped His Royal Rumble Angle with Randy Orton

Aleister Black was supposed to be involved in an elimination spot with Randy Orton at Royal Rumble. However, the idea was dropped after some consideration.

Aleister Black Reveals Why WWE Scrapped His Royal Rumble Angle with Randy Orton

Aleister Black kicking Randy Orton on the side of his head [via- WWE]

Aleister Black didn’t get featured in this year’s Royal Rumble match despite being initially planned for it. He even made the trip to Saudi Arabia but ended up getting axed from the creative plans he was factored into.

But why is that? Is it because of the body tattoos that he has, which had previously kept him from competing in the aforementioned Middle Eastern country, owing to their religious sensitivity? Black quashed those rumors during a chat with Rob Pasbani of The Stunner.

The 40-year-old revealed that the actual reason for his Royal Rumble exclusion was that WWE wanted to kickstart a rivalry between him and Randy Orton. The former House of Black leader thought it wouldn’t be the most effective way to ignite a rivalry with the 14-time world champion just by making it all about who’s going to dump the other over the top rope.

I was supposed to be in the Royal Rumble, but then they were going to start myself and Randy, and I felt like if we are going to do that story and start in the Royal Rumble, it is just going to get snowed under. We do not want it to just go to waste for them to just be two guys that are like being dumped out. Why do we not save it for the weeks to come?

Aleister Black via The Stunner

And that’s why the involved parties deferred the Orton/Black interaction, which happened a week later on SmackDown. ‘The Striking Man from Amsterdam’ also confirmed the fuss around his tattoos keeping him from wrestling in Saudi Arabia.

The former NXT Champion revealed Vince McMahon telling him years ago that they weren’t aware of how the local authorities would react to the issue. It’s no longer a problem, with Black pointing out that he did receive airtime when WWE toured Riyadh in June 2025.

Aleister Black, in hindsight, thought it was a very smart decision to hold off his confrontation with Randy Orton, as they ultimately wrestled a singles match in the main event of SmackDown.

‘The Harbinger of Fury’ even scored an upset pinfall victory over ‘The Apex Predator’ after Drew McIntyre ambushed Orton. Black was glad the way it panned out, as the actual match had way more eyeballs than it could’ve garnered via a freak Royal Rumble elimination.

Aleister Black on a potential feud with Randy Orton

In an interview with Forbes, Aleister Black discussed the prospect of entering a full-fledged rivalry with Randy Orton after their recent one-on-one showdown. ‘The Anti-Hero’ stressed that it was merely the first chapter of what he’s expecting to be an entire lore.

Black admitted that things are always subject to change in this business, but the fan reception to his match with Orton was impressive, which bodes well for their feud down the line.

Randy Orton vs. Aleister Black
Randy Orton vs. Aleister Black [via- WWE]

‘The Dutch Destroyer’ thought that the sheer contrast in their wrestling styles captivated the audience. Moreover, in the aforementioned conversation with Rob Pasbani, Black reviewed his first year back with WWE. “I consider it a massive success,” said the former AEW star. The husband of Zelina Vega affirmed that he’s found himself busy since returning to WWE and has been wrestling more often than before.

Black has headlined several episodes of SmackDown over the past year, where he was involved in a heated rivalry with Damian Priest. When it comes to whether it could have been any better than what it actually turned out for Black, he agreed to that notion. However, the 40-year-old said that he would still find room to improve even if he were slotted in the highest echelon right off the bat.

Out and out, the ‘Harbinger of Fury’ called it a very fruitful and diverse year for him, which started off with a brief feud with The Miz. One thing that Black is really looking forward to is the Dark Father gimmick that he was working on back in 2021 but got fired by WWE a week after debuting it on television.

He’s already given glimpses of how that character could corrupt his opponents, as Black has been trying to bring out the more vicious side of Orton in recent weeks. ‘The Viper’ told Black that he’ll find him after the Elimination Chamber. But with Orton now set to main event WrestleMania with Cody Rhodes, it’d be interesting to see how Black would fit into the Orton/Rhodes saga.

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