ALEISTER BLACK

Tom Büdgen is a 40-year-old Dutch professional wrestler from the Netherlands. He is currently signed with World Wrestling Entertainment where he performs on the company’s SmackDown brand under the ring name, Aleister Black.

Early Wrestling Career

Büdgen has an extensive background in martial arts, having trained in kickboxing and Muay Thai. He started his professional wrestling career on the European independent circuit and made his debut under the ring name, Tommy End, in June 2002. End worked 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. As well, he wrestled for Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in Japan and Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Evolve, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) in the United States.

Büdgen has held numerous championships throughout his career. He 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.

Aleister Black Joins WWE

In June 2016, Büdgen signed with WWE and reported to the company’s Performance Center in October. In March 2017, he made his televised in-ring debut at NXT TakeOver: Orlando on April 1st defeating Andrade “Cien” Almas. Black began a rivalry with Velveteen Dream, who constantly provoked him, trying to get Black to say his name. Their feud led to a match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, which Black won. After the match, he finally acknowledged Dream by saying his name.

On December 27, Black took his first pinfall loss in a fatal four-way match, thanks to interference from The Undisputed Era. Despite the setback, he bounced back at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia on January 27, 2018, defeating Adam Cole in a brutal Extreme Rules match.

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Aleister Black Wins NXT Championship

On April 7th, Black defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans to win the NXT Championship. On the May 30 episode of NXT, Lars Sullivan confronted Black and demanded a title shot. They faced off at NXT TakeOver: Chicago II, where Black successfully retained the championship. On July 25, Black lost the title to Tommaso Ciampa after interference from Johnny Gargano, ending his 108-day reign as champion.

Aleister Black competed in the 2019 Royal Rumble, entering as competitor #19 but was eliminated by Baron Corbin. In March, Aleister Black teamed up with Ricochet to compete in the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The duo won the tournament by defeating The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake) in the finals. At NXT TakeOver: New York on April 5, Black and Ricochet challenged The War Raiders for the NXT Tag Team Championship but came up short in their title match.

Aleister Black’s Main Roster Debut

Aleister Black officially debuted on RAW, where he picked up a win against Elias. Ricochet and Black challenged for the RAW Tag Team Championship at Fastlane in a triple threat match against Bobby Roode & Chad Gable and The Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson), but came up short. The following month, at WrestleMania 35, Black and Ricochet competed in a fatal four-way match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, but were once again unsuccessful in capturing the titles.

From 2019 to 2021, Aleister Black performed for WWE on both RAW and SmackDown. He was released from the WWE on June 2, 2021.

All Elite Wrestling & Return to WWE

Malakai Black debuted in AEW in July 2021, quickly establishing himself as a heel by attacking Cody Rhodes. He formed the House of Black with Brody King and Buddy Matthews, later joined by Julia Hart. The group feuded with several teams and won the AEW World Trios Championships in March 2023, losing them later that year.

Black also competed in high-profile matches, including title shots and pay-per-view events, but didn’t capture singles gold. In 2024, the group turned face after an attack by Christian Cage. Black’s final AEW match was at Full Gear 2024, and he left the company in February 2025 when his contract expired.

On the April 25, 2025 episode of SmackDown, Aleister Black returned to WWE after weeks of teaser vignettes, attacking The Miz with a Black Mass and signaling a face turn. The following week, he defeated The Miz in his in-ring return. On the next SmackDown, Black beat The Miz’s protégé, Carmelo Hayes, and once again dropped Miz with a Black Mass.

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STATS

Birth name: Tom Büdgen
Born: May 19, 1985, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Spouse: Zelina Vega
Height: 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight: 215 lb (98 kg)
Ring name(s): Aleister Black,
Malakai Black, Tommy End
Current Roster: SmackDown
Finishing move(s): Black Mass

Aleister Black’s Social Media:

ALEISTER BLACK PHOTOS

CAREER CHAMPIONSHIPS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Adriatic Special Combat Academy

Super 8 Cup II (2013)

All Elite Wrestling

AEW World Trios Championship (1 time) – with Brody King and Buddy Matthews

Catch Wrestling Norddeutschland

CWN Mittelgewichtsmeisterschaft Championship (1 time, inaugural)

Dutch Wrestling Federation

DWF Cruiserweight Championship (1 time, inaugural, final)

Fiend Wrestling Germany

FWG Lightweight Championship (1 time)
FWG Lightweight Title Tournament (2009)

Fight Club: PRO

FCP Championship (1 time)

Freestyle Championship Wrestling

FCW Deutschland Lightweight Championship (1 time)

Insane Championship Wrestling

ICW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Michael Dante
ICW “Match of the Year” Bammy Award (2015)

Pro Wrestling Holland

PWH Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Michael Dante

International Catch Wrestling Alliance

ICWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
ICWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion (1 time)
ICWA European Tag Team Championship/NWA European Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Michael Dante

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla

PWG World Tag Team Championship (1 time, final) – with Brody King

Pro Wrestling Showdown

PWS Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Progress Wrestling

Progress Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Michael Dante
Super Strong Style 16 (2016)

Southside Wrestling Entertainment

SWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Michael Dante

Westside Xtreme Wrestling

wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship (1 time)
wXw World Lightweight Championship (2 times)
wXw World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Michael Dante
16 Carat Gold Tournament (2013, 2015)
Chase The Mahamla (2011)
World Lightweight Tournament (2006)

World Wrestling Entertainment

NXT Championship (1 time)
NXT Year-End Award (3 times)
Male Competitor of the Year (2017)
Breakout Star of the Year (2017)
Rivalry of the Year (2017) – vs. Velveteen Dream
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (2019) – with Ricochet