Independent circuit (2002–2016) in 2016 Under the
ring name Tommy End, Büdgen wrestled extensively on the European
independent circuit starting with his debut on 18 June 2002, working for promotions such as Pro Wrestling Holland (PWH) and Pro Wrestling Showdown (PWS) in the Netherlands,
Progress Wrestling and
Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW) in England,
Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) in Scotland,
Over the Top Wrestling (OTT) in Ireland, and
Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) in Germany, as well as under the Union of European Wrestling Alliance umbrella, among others. He also wrestled for
Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in Japan and
Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW),
Evolve, and
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) in the United States. He held numerous championships and is a former
wXw Unified World Heavyweight Champion,
wXw World Light Heavyweight Champion,
wXw World Tag Team Champion,
ICW Tag Team Champion, and
Progress Tag Team Champion. He challenged
Drew Galloway for the
ICW World Heavyweight Championship,
Bad Bones for the UEWA
European Heavyweight Championship, Davey Richards for the
ROH World Championship and
Marty Scurll for the
Progress World Championship.
WWE NXT (2016–2019) In June 2016, it was reported that Büdgen had signed with
WWE, and he reported to the
WWE Performance Center on 19 October. On 7 January 2017, he debuted the new ring name,
Aleister Black. On 15 January, he made a surprise appearance as Tommy End at the
United Kingdom Championship Tournament finals, losing to
Neville in a non-tournament match. Vignettes began to air from the 8 March episode of
NXT, promoting Black's television debut. Black made his televised in-ring debut at
NXT TakeOver: Orlando on 1 April, defeating
Andrade "Cien" Almas. Black wrestled on the following Takeover events, defeating Hideo Itami at
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III,
Velveteen Dream, at
NXT TakeOver: WarGames, and Adam Cole in an
Extreme Rules match at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia. Black won the NXT Championship from Andrade "Cien" Almas at
NXT TakeOver: New Orleans on 7 April. While he retained the belt against
Lars Sullivan, at
NXT TakeOver: Chicago II, Black lost the title on 25 July episode of
NXT to
Tommaso Ciampa, ending his reign at 108 days. While he was booked to wrestle Ciampa and Johnny Gargano at
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4, he was removed from television that same day. After being out of action for two months, Black returned on 17 October episode of
NXT, confronting
Nikki Cross, who revealed that Johnny Gargano was the one who had attacked him. A match between Black and Gargano was scheduled for
NXT TakeOver: WarGames, in which Black was victorious. At
NXT TakeOver: Phoenix on 26 January 2019, Black failed to regain the NXT Championship from Tommaso Ciampa. The next night at the
Royal Rumble, he entered the
Royal Rumble match at number 21, but was eliminated by
Baron Corbin. In March, Black formed a tag team with
Ricochet and the two won the
2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. At
NXT TakeOver: New York on 5 April, Black and Ricochet unsuccessfully faced
The War Raiders for the
NXT Tag Team Championship in what would be Black's final NXT appearance.
Main roster (2019–2021) On 18 February 2019, Black made his official
Raw debut, defeating
Elias. Black also continued his team with Ricochet, and the duo competed in a
Raw Tag Team Championship match at
Fastlane that featured
Bobby Roode and
Chad Gable, and
The Revival (
Dash Wilder and
Scott Dawson), but failed to win. Black and Ricochet also competed for the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship in a fatal four-way match the following month at
WrestleMania 35, but were again unsuccessful. As part of the
Superstar Shake-up on 15 April, Black was drafted to the
Raw brand, however on 22 April Black was drafted to the
SmackDown brand due to his real-life wife
Zelina Vega being drafted there, therefore splitting him from Ricochet. Black then began appearing in ominous backstage promos in a dark room, awaiting a challenger. with the mystery opponent to be revealed as
Cesaro. Their match would take place at
Extreme Rules on 14 July, as Black's first singles pay-per-view match since joining the main roster, where Black defeated Cesaro. As part of the
2019 Draft in October, Black was drafted to the Raw brand. Over the following weeks, Black would develop a winning streak, squashing his opponents. On 18 November episode of
Raw,
Buddy Murphy went to Black's locker room to challenge him, but Black was absent and Murphy claimed that Black was all talk and no fight. The following week, Black appeared and attacked Murphy after his match. A match between Black and Murphy was scheduled for
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, which Black won. At the
Royal Rumble pay-per-view on 26 January 2020, Black entered the Royal Rumble match at number 28, but was eliminated by
Seth Rollins. On 24 February episode of
Raw, Black was attacked by
The O.C. (
AJ Styles,
Luke Gallows, and
Karl Anderson) backstage. The next week on
Raw, Black faced The O.C. members in separate matches, and suffered his first pinfall loss on the main roster, to AJ Styles. At
Elimination Chamber on 8 March, Black defeated Styles in a no disqualification match, with interference from
The Undertaker. At
WrestleMania 36, on night two of the event, Black defeated
Bobby Lashley after an accidental distraction by Lashley's manager and
in-storyline wife
Lana. On 20 April episode of
Raw, Black defeated
Austin Theory to qualify for the
Money in the Bank ladder match at
Money in the Bank. At the event,
COVID-19 pandemic restraints forced the match to be changed to a
cinematic match with a "Corporate Ladder" gimmick in which the titular briefcase was suspended above a ring on the roof of WWE's headquarters, with the competitors starting on the ground floor and fighting their way to the roof. Black failed to win the match, which was also notable for a sequence where Black and
Rey Mysterio were thrown off the roof by
Baron Corbin. Following this, Black began a feud with Seth Rollins and Murphy after Rollins injured Rey Mysterio's eye. On 27 July episode of
Raw, Murphy injured Black's right eye by driving it through the steel steps. On the 24 August episode of
Raw, Black, now wearing an eye bandage, returned during
The Kevin Owens Show and attacked
Kevin Owens, turning
heel for the first time in his career. The following week on Raw he attacked Owens again with his Black Mass finishing move before a match against
Randy Orton which Owens lost. On the 14 September episode of
Raw, Owens defeated Black. Owens would go on again to defeat Black, via disqualification, on the 28 September episode of
Raw. On the 12 October episode of
Raw, Black would lose again to Owens in a No Disqualification match, ending the feud. As part of the
2020 Draft in October, Black was drafted to the SmackDown brand. However, following the draft, Black would disappear from television for six months. After his absence, he returned on the 23 April 2021 episode of
SmackDown in a vignette promoting his return. After several weeks of vignettes, Black officially returned on the 21 May episode of
SmackDown, attacking
Big E with the
Black Mass which allowed Apollo Crews to retain the
Intercontinental Championship in the main event, in what would be his final appearance with WWE in his first stint. Black was originally planned to feud with Big E as a result, but it never came to fruition as Black was released from the company on 2 June.
All Elite Wrestling (2021–2025) On the 7 July 2021 episode of
Dynamite, entitled
Road Rager, Büdgen made his debut for
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Malakai Black, attacking both
Arn Anderson and
Cody Rhodes with the Black Mass, cementing himself as a villainous character. During the special
Homecoming episode of
Dynamite on 4 August, Black made his in-ring AEW debut defeating Rhodes. After the match, Black attacked Rhodes once again, laying him out after hitting him in the back with a crutch. Black would face Rhodes in a rematch at
Grand Slam on 22 September, defeating him once again. On the 23 October episode of
Dynamite, Black suffered his loss in AEW at the hands of Rhodes in a no disqualification match. On 14 November at
Full Gear, Black teamed with
Andrade El Idolo in a losing effort to Rhodes and
Pac. (Black,
Brody King, and
Buddy Matthews) menacing
Wheeler Yuta (bottom) at the
2024 All In. In early 2022, Black began feuding with the Varsity Blonds (
Brian Pillman Jr. and
Griff Garrison) and the Death Triangle (Pac and
Penta El Zero Miedo). On the 12 January 2022 edition of
Dynamite,
Brody King debuted and joined Black, forming a tag team called the Kings of the Black Throne which later expanded into a larger faction called the
House of Black. On the 23 February edition of
Dynamite,
Buddy Matthews made his debut as the third House of Black member. At
Revolution's pre-show on 4 March, the House of Black would win in a trios match against the team of the Death Triangle and
Erick Redbeard, with Black pinning Redbeard for the victory. At
Double or Nothing in May,
Julia Hart would join the group after helping them beat the Death Triangle in a six-man tag team match. At
Forbidden Door, Black competed in a
four-way match to determine the inaugural
AEW All-Atlantic Champion, but failed to win. At the
All Out event on 5 September, House of Black were defeated by
Darby Allin,
Sting and
Miro. Following this, Black took a leave of absence, after initially asking for his release from his AEW contract. Black made his return along with the House of Black on the 23 November episode of
Dynamite, and the group began a feud with
The Elite (
Kenny Omega,
Matt Jackson, and
Nick Jackson) in March 2023. At
Revolution on 5 March, the House of Black defeated the Elite to win the
AEW World Trios Championship. The House of Black successfully defended the championship against
The Acclaimed (
Max Caster,
Anthony Bowens and
Billy Gunn) in a "House Rules" match at
Double or Nothing in May. At
All In: London on 27 August, the House of Black were defeated by the Acclaimed in a "House Rules"
No Holds Barred match, ending their reign at 175 days. At
Full Gear on 18 November, Black and King competed in a four-way ladder match for the
AEW World Tag Team Championship, which was won by
Ricky Starks and
Big Bill. At
Dynasty in April 2024, the House of Black defeated
Adam Copeland,
Eddie Kingston, and
Mark Briscoe in a six-man tag match. At
Double or Nothing on 26 May 2024, Black then unsuccessfully challenged Copeland for the
AEW TNT Championship in a
barbed wire steel cage match in what was his only singles match on an AEW pay-per-view. On the 15 June episode of
Collision, the House of Black won a #1 contenders' match for
The Patriarchy's AEW World Trios Championships. After the match, Patriarchy leader
Christian Cage appeared on the titantron and revealed that they had attacked Matthews with a con-chair-to, turning the entire House of Black stable face for the first time. On 25 August at
All In, the House of Black participated in the
ladder match for the AEW World Trios Championships, but failed to win. On 23 November at
Full Gear, Kings of the Black Throne participated in a
four-way tag team match for the
AEW World Tag Team Championships, but failed to win in what would be his final match in AEW. On 10 February 2025, it was reported that Black's contract had expired and he would be departing the company.
Return to WWE (2025–2026) On 25 April 2025 episode of
SmackDown, after weeks of vignettes teasing his return, Büdgen, reverting back to his
Aleister Black name, made his return to WWE, hitting
The Miz with a
Black Mass, becoming an official member of the
SmackDown roster. The following week on
SmackDown, Black defeated The Miz in his in-ring return. Black then began a feud with
Damian Priest, defeating him in a
Last Man Standing match on 10 October episode of
SmackDown with the help of his real-life wife
Zelina Vega. On the 2 January 2026 episode of SmackDown, Black lost to Priest in a Ambulance match ending their feud. In February 2026, Black entered a brief feud with
Randy Orton with both men trading wins over each other; Black was reportedly penciled-in to form an alliance with Orton heading into
WrestleMania 42, however WWE’s parent company
TKO opted to use
Pat McAfee instead. Black made his final WWE appearance on the 17 April of
SmackDown in the
2026 André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, where he was eliminated by eventual winner
Royce Keys. On 24 April, it was reported that both Black and Vega were released from their WWE contracts. == Other media ==