Among the latest batch of WWE releases was the real-life couple of Aleister Black and Zelina Vega, who previously reigned as NXT Champion and Women’s United States Champion, respectively. Now, the pair is on the road to free agency, with their next moves unconfirmed.

Wherever Black and Vega end up, though, AEW star Swerve Strickland just wishes that it satisfies the goals they’re aiming for.

“They’re both very talented, incredible people. Incredible talents in itself,” Strickland told “The Bootleg Kev Podcast.” “I just hope they find something that gives them the type of, I don’t know what it is that he’s really [looking for]. Whatever it is, I hope they find some place that gives them that. [Black] has so many great ideas. He’s one of the guys that got me into NXT. Him talking with Terry Taylor and he’s like ‘This is a guy you got to watch out for.’ I did tape studies with him in 2017. My last indie run, he was the guy I was going to. He really helped my mind a lot at that stage in my career. So I just hope he finds the place that gives him whatever it is that can fulfill him in the industry again.”

Black returned to WWE in April 2025, just days after WrestleMania 41. Vega, on the other hand, began her second WWE run back in 2021, the same year in which she became the company’s first ever Queen of the Ring.

Black previously worked in AEW from 2021 until early 2025. Vega has history with TNA, WWE’s partner promotion, having performed there under the name Rosita from 2011 until early 2013.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “The Bootleg Kev Podcast” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.