Malakai Black Reveals Scrapped Plans For Second WWE NXT Title Reign

Back in 2018, Aleister Black reached the top of the mountain in NXT and he reigned as NXT Champion for 108 days. The Harbinger Of Fury defeated Andrade for the gold at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans in April and he would successfully defend the title against Eric Young and Lars Sullivan before dropping the belt to Tommaso Ciampa on July 25 following interference from Johnny Gargano.

The Gargano-Ciampa rivalry was the focal point of NXT throughout the year and Black was originally scheduled to challenge for the title at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn on August 18 in a Triple Threat match involving the former #DIY men. He was pulled from the match following a legitimate groin injury, though, and he eventually unsuccessfully challenged Ciampa for the title at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix in January 2019. 

Black's groin injury seemingly robbed him of a second NXT Title reign as the now AEW star told the Wrestling Perspective Podcast he was originally scheduled to regain the championship.

"Before I got injured, the plan was always for me to win the belt back again. So that's something I think that always plays with me mentally. It was me and Tommaso, Tommaso takes it, and then it was apparently leading into me and Johnny for a while, and then it would loop into a three-way, where I would take the belt back again," Black revealed.

"And then it would loop to the point where it would've been me and Johnny. And I think the idea back then was that Johnny would take it from me, and then it would go in between Tommaso and Johnny and it would kind of take me out of the equation. Something like that. Don't pin me down on that completely. But that was partially what one of the ideas was."

Black ultimately didn't get a second reign with the gold and he would move to the main roster later in 2019. 

H/T to Wrestling Inc.