Aleister Black says there was talk of him competing in Glory Kickboxing in the past.
Aleister Black is a pro wrestler who heavily exhibits the traits of a talented kickboxer, with his finisher, The Black Mass, being one of the most well known striking finishers in the industry. As it turns out, Black had conversations with Glory and Bellator.
While speaking to Wrestling the Rap Game in an interview that was recorded prior to Black's AEW exit, Black was asked if he considered getting into UFC or Strikeforce when he was younger.
"No, God no. There was talk, back in the day, I have to be completely honest that I don’t know if it was during or right before I went to WWE. It was Glory and I think, at some point, the conversation turned to Bellator. I was like, ‘Guys, I am not a trained MMA guy. I do kickboxing and muay-thai,’ back then it was kickboxing, I transitioned to muay-thai later. I don’t know how to grapple. I know some shoot holds and some wrestling because of what I do in the ring, I know some holds, but if you put me with anyone with the slightest capability of grappling, I’d be done. Put up a good fight, though. That was a little bit of a rumbling, I just didn’t want to do it. In the event that I would have picked Glory, I feel I would have been disrespecting the sport. I would take up a spot of someone who has dedicated their entire life to being (a fighter). Glory is a massive stage. I would take a spot and I would feel so bad and I wouldn’t want to disrespect my coaches and trainers. I will always train martial arts, but competing is something I let the pros do."
Black made his return to WWE on the April 25th edition of Friday Night SmackDown, laying out The Miz with Black Mass. You can read more about that here.
Elsewhere in the same interview, Black shared advice he received from Bray Wyatt. You can read more about that here.
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