Vince McMahon was keen on bringing Aleister Black to the main roster when Black was a part of NXT. Triple H reportedly rejected the WWE Chairman's plans as he wanted Black to end his feud with Johnny Gargano.
Aleister Black debuted in NXT in 2017 and was on the brand until 2019. In his spell with the Black and Gold brand, he won the NXT Championship once when he defeated another recently-released WWE star, Andrade.
While speaking on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette, Aleister Black revealed that Vince McMahon was a big fan of his during his time with NXT. Triple H had recently told Black that McMahon had asked him a few times to allow him to bring Black to the main roster.
"I remember the match that I had with Velveteen [Dream] and that was a match that put me on the map and I remember Hunter telling me a while ago, about like a year-and-a-half ago, we had a talk. Even a year-and-a-half ago, I was going like, ‘What are we doing? Because it’s starting, stopping.’ Every time I thought we were going somewhere, we didn’t. Every time I saw the fans get behind me or the ratings were positive, no one pulled the trigger on it and Hunter told me that even back then, Vince [McMahon] was like, ‘I want that guy’ and then it was, I think the match with Johnny [Gargano] when I came back, again, ‘I want that guy’ and Hunter kept telling him, ‘No. I have this program with him. I want him to finish [and] write that out,’" said Aleister Black. (H/T Post Wrestling)
Aleister Black on his relationship with Vince McMahon
Following his WWE release, Aleister Black stated that his relationship with Vince McMahon had been "positive" and McMahon praised Black's creativity.
There were plans for Black to win the US Championship, but McMahon changed those plans as he did not want him to win the title in an empty arena.
Black thanked Vince McMahon, Triple H, and the WWE creative team after he was released by the company and expressed no bitterness or anger towards them.