Malakai Black: Why Zelina Vega Re-Signed With WWE

Malakai Black has revealed he was the driving force behind Zelina Vega agreeing to return to WWE.

While she wouldn't resurface on Friday Night Smackdown until July 2, over one month after Black's release, it was reported back in May that the working plan was for Vega to return to the company, while the former NXT Champion remained under contract.

Vega was initially fired by WWE in November 2020 after she set up an OnlyFans account in defiance of the company's third-party ban. The company opened negotiations with her in 2021, though, and WWE officials actually apologised to Zelina for the nature of her departure.

Black reflected on his own WWE release on Talk Is Jericho and he revealed one of the main reasons Vega wanted to return to the company was because he was still on the roster.

"When (the release) happened, Johnny Ace [John Laurinaitis] called me and even he was confused. My wife was crying because she knew. She was about to come back and one of the main reasons she wanted to come back was because I was there, which was more or less the driving force, other than the promises they made her," Black said.

Vega ultimately returned on July 2. She is yet to win a match and has been defeated by Toni Storm, Liv Morgan and Bianca Belair in singles competition.

H/T to Fightful