Aleister Black Clarifies Tattoos Did Not Keep Him From Appearing In WWE Royal Rumble

Aleister Black traveled to Saudi Arabia for the Royal Rumble, but ultimately did not end up appearing in the Rumble match.

It was rumored, but never confirmed, that his tattoos kept him off the show.

Speaking to Rob Pasbani of The Stunner, Black clarified why he wasn’t part of the Rumble.

“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.”

The feud between Black and Orton started after the Rumble. Black defeated Orton on the February 20 episode of WWE SmackDown.