In the conversation, Blanc touched on his match with Mustafa Ali.
Aigle Blanc hit the 10-year mark as a wrestler in 2024. Dating back to 2014, he’s worked independents across France and over the last several years, he’s wrestled for All Japan, GCW and wXw Germany.
There’s an extensive interview with Blanc on the VoxCatch website that was conducted by Lucas Charpiot. During their chat, Blanc was asked if he’s had any contact with WWE and responded by saying the only contact he’s had was with William Regal and it was feedback to a match.
He continued by saying he does not have any information about NXT Europe, but hopes it’ll launch. Blanc said within wXw, most think a good number of wrestlers will be contacted if the project comes to fruition. He went on to add that he thinks while WWE is in France for Backlash, there could be an opportunity to work for the company to an extent. Blanc cited how when WWE heads overseas for television or Premium Live Events, local talents are brought in or used as extras. It’s not something he’s directly seeking out, but would not be against it.
I’ve never had any direct contact with WWE. I’ve only had feedback from William Regal on one of my matches against Tristan Archer. He congratulated us on our work… In the locker room, nobody has any information about NXT Europe. Nobody’s been contacted. Of course, we hope it will come. At wXw (Germany), we’re like a family. We know full well that if the project sees the light of day, a good number of wrestlers will be contacted. We hope that everyone will succeed. Between us, we think we might have a tryout at WWE Backlash in April. That’s what happens in England when they do SmackDown and a pay-per-view. They take English wrestlers for dark matches. Fingers crossed that they’ll do it in Lyon. If that’s the case and I’m in the mix, great. I’d never turn down an opportunity like that. However, I’m not particularly waiting for it to happen, especially at this stage of my career. Right now, I’d like to be able to work with GCW again and go back to Japan.
Mustafa Ali became a free agent after exiting WWE and his first match back on the independents was against Aigle Blanc. Aigle was anxious about being Ali’s first post-WWE opponent.
He feels he gained a lot of exposure from it and Ali was easy to work with. When Ali gave his post-match speech, Blanc was not aware of it and he later found out from someone else that Ali spoke highly of him.
Without wanting to sound pretentious, given that I’m used to dealing with big names on the indie scene, I felt at ease with him (Mustafa Ali) straight away. He was really nice and also made me feel at ease. We got along really well. He listened to my ideas to build the match. He’s a very attentive and good listener. I was anxious about being his first post-WWE match. It adds extra pressure. We didn’t just share a match. We really got to know each other outside the ring too. I’d never seen an atmosphere like that at Studio Jenny. The crowd really gave me a boost, my adrenaline was pumping. Mustafa Ali was delighted with the match and we got very good feedback. He didn’t know me at all before coming. He was pleasantly surprised. Thanks to his visit, I’ve gained a lot of exposure.
His post-match speech also put me in the spotlight. I wasn’t even aware that he’d made a speech. I didn’t hear anything (laughs). It was C.J. West (Irish wrestler) who told me about it after the show. I couldn’t believe it. There’s no better compliment than being compared to your childhood idols. Especially when it comes from someone who’s had the chance to face them.
When it comes to the future, Blanc shared that he’s in talks with AJPW about a return and they’re interested.
Lots of dates in the U.S.A. for WrestleMania week (is what you can wish for me in 2024). These dates would allow me to stand out even more. A return to Japan too! My first experience went really well. I’d love to go back and do longer one-on-one matches. I had discussions with All Japan about a return, and they’re interested. It’s in progress. Unfortunately, on their side, it’s difficult to manage. All I want is not to regress from last year. I want to do better than in 2023!
Elsewhere in the chat, Aigle said he’s been in touch with Game Changer Wrestling. The promotion will be presenting The Collective from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in April.
