Malakai Black Given Conditional Release By AEW
Malakai Black has been given a conditional release by AEW that will put an end to his one year run with the company. His last AEW match was at All Out.
The second last match at AEW All Out this past Sunday saw the House of Black trio of Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews in a trios match against Sting, Miro & Darby Allin. The match ended with Sting spitting the dreaded black mist into Black’s eyes and Allin doing the Last Supper rollup for the pinfall win. Sting has never lost in AEW.
Over the past week, there were reports that Black was unhappy in AEW even though he signed a five-year deal in July 2021. Reports emerged from Raj Giri of WrestlingInc that Black was concerned about his mental health and displeasure about how he was used in AEW. That led to reports of Black asking for his release from the company.
After the match at All Out, Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer noted that Black blew a kiss to the Chicago crowd and took a bow. The implication is that it could be Black’s way of telling the crowd that the House of Black leader was going to leave AEW. A video of Black’s gesture to the crowd is below.
Very weird ending for Malakai Black. I don't think this part aired. I feel like he knows something we don't know. #AEWAllOutpic.twitter.com/Xu2AJ4cZBB
— KayyDott (@KayyMickey) September 5, 2022
When AEW President Tony Khan was asked about Black’s gesture during the post-All Out press conference, Khan dismissed the question saying he “can’t comment on that” and moved on.
In an update on Black’s situation, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful is reporting that some AEW wrestlers believe that Black has been given a “conditional release” from the company:
“AEW talent are of the belief that Malakai Black was granted his conditional release from AEW. His original request for release was denied. We’ve reached out to AEW for official word, but haven’t heard back.”
There were more details from Fightful Select noting that Khan wanted to keep Black in AEW and that it’s considered an unusual release because AEW does not normally do that sort of thing unless it’s for a disciplinary reason. In this case, it was because Black requested it.
It is believed that the conditional release of Black likely prevents him from wrestling for another wrestling company (like WWE) any time soon. It’s also possible that Black could return to AEW when he feels ready to, but the decision was made to release him since he requested it.
Black has been married to WWE’s Zelina Vega since 2018 when they both worked for WWE.