Summary

Aleister Black said rumors about his tattoos keeping him out of the WWE Royal Rumble were not true.

Black said he traveled to Saudi Arabia for Royal Rumble and was originally planned for the match, but the creative direction changed so his story with Randy Orton could begin later.

He said the feud started after Royal Rumble, and Black defeated Orton on the February 20 episode of WWE SmackDown.

Aleister Black and Randy Orton feud gained momentum by starting after Royal Rumble

Aleister Black said delaying his Royal Rumble appearance led to a bigger immediate impact for his program with Randy Orton, because the angle then unfolded on SmackDown in a main event setting.

With Black already holding a win over Orton from February 20, the feud now has a defined result on record while the rivalry continues to be framed as a major TV storyline.

Quotes

Quote from Aleister Black

“No, that is not true. 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? The initial setup of Saudi Arabia, my tattoos did come into question. That is absolute fact. In the initial setting, it was definitely like, ‘Well, we do not know how they are going to respond.’ I am talking five years ago when it all first started. That was a conversation I had with Vince. But that is no longer the case. The last time I was in the ring there, even though the segment was small, I was still presented on TV and my arms were exposed. The side of my head is always exposed. You could still see a lot of my tattoos. No, that was not the reason why. It was a very smart decision because looking back at what me and Randy did, it got its own life on Smackdown in the main event. Millions and millions of views. I do not know if it would have been able to exist in that way if we would have done it at the Royal Rumble. I appreciate you taking the time to clarify. It is good to know that fans care.”