WWE rival All Elite Wrestling is apparently losing a prominent face. Malakai Black is apparently on his way to the market leader.
According to reports by the Fightful portal and podcaster and reporter Bryan Alvarez from the Wrestling Observer, Malakai Black is said to be on the verge of leaving AEW or has already done so.
The rumors surrounding the Dutchman are supported by what happened on Wednesday’s TV show Dynamite, where an end to Black’s House of Black grouping was hinted at.
Black – once known and popular on the German and European scene as Tommy End – joined AEW in 2021 after his unexpected release from WWE and began a major feud with current WWE Champion Cody Rhodes on his surprise debut.
Black asked to be released from his contract
In 2022, the working relationship hit turbulence when Black asked to be released from his contract, which AEW boss Tony Khan said was for five years.
At the time, Black cited a combination of professional frustrations and personal misfortunes as the reason. However, there was also speculation that Black might have had his eye on new prospects with his former employer after his WWE promoter “Triple H” Paul Levesque came to power – AEW accused WWE at the time of encouraging several stars to breach their contracts.
Black – who has been plagued by massive injury problems in recent years – ultimately stayed with AEW when Khan insisted on honoring his contract. It is now being said that the deal expired earlier than originally suggested due to option clauses.
Private reunion at WWE?
The brooding Black was a three-time AEW Trios Champion with his partners Brody King and Buddy Matthews. At Dynamite, the breakup of the group was now on the horizon: Matthews lost a match to Will Ospreay, who then made himself noticed by telling Matthews that he “doesn’t need a leader.” Matthews continued the thread in a backstage promo in which he explained that Ospreay’s words “did not fall on deaf ears” with him.
Since 2022, several other AEW stars have joined WWE, including CM Punk, who was fired by AEW for backstage incidents, Andrade, Jade Cargill and, most recently, Penta El Zero Miedo.
All signs now point to Blacks departure from AEW as well, a comeback to WWE – where he was once a champion of the NXT development squad as Aleister Black – also seems like the logical next step in his case, also for family reasons: Black is married to WWE star Zelina Vega.
