Aleister Black recently returned to active competition following his release from WWE with the European independent promotion PROGRESS Wrestling, and now he’s returning his old ring name.
The Dutch star began his run with PROGRESS using the same name he was billed under during his time in AEW, Malakai Black. However, he recently announced that he will now revert back to the name Tommy End, which he competed under prior to his first stint in WWE.
Black and his wife, Zelina Vega, were among the stars released by WWE this spring in a massive roster cut following WrestleMania 42. His missus, working under the name Xelina, also returned to the ring on the indie scene earlier this month.
After only a couple of matches with PROGRESS, Malakai managed to capture the promotion’s top championship. However, he lost it back to former champion Cara Noir on Sunday (September 27).
That match would prove to be instrumental in Black’s career in more ways than one. PROGRESS noted on its X (Twitter) account that the audience at the London event kept chanting “Tommy End” throughout the match. (Another notable match at the same PROGRESS Wrestling event: Xelina competed against Nikki Storm, fka Nikki Cross in WWE.)
After losing the encounter, Black cut an in-ring promo.
“Well, you clearly made your preference ready,” he said the crowd. “So, it’s not Malakai Black, it’s Tommy End.”
PROGRESS has since promoted the return of Tommy End at an October event in Camden, London.
After maintaining a public silence about his WWE departure, Black, err End, recently opened up about what he called his “dud” of a return to the company when he appeared on his wife’s podcast earlier this month with Charlie Girl (fka Dakota Kai).
“I can pretend that it [being released] didn’t suck, but of course it sucks,” he said. “It always sucks. In my case, it sucked harder because of the mountains of things that were promised and all the other conversations.
“And then being presented with this f**king dud of a year. Despite main events, despite all these things, it [wasn’t] what they said that they wanted to do.
“To me, it was like, ‘Why did you guys even want this? Because this makes no f**king sense.’ But that’s besides the point. At some point, I’m sure I’ll talk about it.”
What do you think about Aleister/Malakai Black reverting back to the name Tommy End? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
