WWE SmackDown wasn’t to be outdone by Raw after WrestleMania.
Days after Rusev made his shock comeback to the red brand on Netflix, it was the Friday night show in the spotlight with Aleister Black making the jump from AEW for his own surprise return.
The former NXT Champion was hailed by commentator Joe Tessitore as ‘ultra dangerous’ and lived up to the billing as he laid out The Miz.
It all went down after the A-Lister went to the ring to complain about missing out on WrestleMania 41, despite Rey Mysterio and Kevin Owens both needing replacements over the weekend.
During Miz’s rant, the lights dropped and Black’s iconic old theme blared out as he emerged from the stage as if from a coffin, flanked by candles.
He made his way to the ring and sent the former world champ crashing to the mat with a Black Mass, making an instant impression on his first night back.
Fans were overjoyed to see him in the fold four years after he was last seen laying out Big E before mysteriously disappearing amid WWE cuts, only to resurface in AEW months later.
‘ALEISTER BLACK IS BACK!!! 🔥 #Smackdown,’ wrote @BellyToBellyPT, while fellow X user @BuckleyTrafford added: ‘Aleister Black is back!! WITH HIS OG MUSIC ‼️🔥😩 #Smackdown’
‘ALEISTER BLACK IS BACK WITH HIS OLD THEME!!,’ said @ScottTHFC23, as @ItzChefSteph raved: ‘Aleister Black is here. I’m soo excited. The pop for Aleister Black is beautiful.’
‘Aleister Black is back looking as good and menacing as he ever has,’ pointed out @samguine_, and @tomthebeaver tweeted: ‘Aleister Black has returned to WWE, and looks absolutely phenomenal!’
Elsewhere on the first SmackDown since WrestleMania, the show opened with John Cena, who got cut off by Randy Orton before he could say a word.
The Legend Killer suggested the wrestler turned Hollywood star should have kids of his own to recaptured his previous attitude, and the segment led to a blockbuster match being made.
Next month at Backlash in St Louis, hometown hero Orton will challenge longtime rival Cena for the WWE Championship in their final ever bout together.
Meanwhile, Aleister Black’s real life wife Zelina Vega had a fantastic night as she scored a huge upset over Chelsea Green to capture the United States Title – her first taste at singles gold.
NXT standouts Fraxiom stunned in their SmackDown debut as a team, with Nathan Frazer and Axiom toppling Los Garzas in a fast paced clash.
Tiffany Stratton was confronted by Jade Cargill, leading to a great first-time bout between the pair.
In the end, Naomi caused the disqualification when she took out Cargill, before Nia Jax reignited her feud with the WWE Women’s Champion.
In the men’s United States Title division, Damian Priest and Solo Sikoa made sure there was no winner between LA Knight and Drew McIntyre in the number one contenders match, while Jacob Fatu laid out Knight and Priest amid the chaos.
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