Former WWE Star Aleister Black Debuts for AEW as Malakai Black

Less than two months following his release from WWE, the man formerly known as Aleister Black has found a new home.

Black (whose real name is Tom Budgen and previously worked under the name Tommy End) made his AEW debut on Wednesday night at Dynamite as Malakai Black at Miami’s James K. Knight Center. Black made his grand entrance to square off against Arn Anderson, wasting no time leaving an impact on the fired up crowd.

Black was among those released from WWE in early June. The move was a surprise to Black, who expressed his shock on Twitter after the news was announced.

Black teased his AEW debut earlier on Wednesday with a promotional video on his Instagram account. Fair warning, the video is pretty graphic.

If his debut is any indication, AEW will likely feature Black quite prominently in future events.