New WWE Regime Led To Several AEW Release Requests
Unsurprisingly, Triple H taking over WWE creative led to numerous former talent wanting another go in the company, presumably with greater results.
When it was confirmed that Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque was going to be heading up WWE creative following the retirement of Vince McMahon, the initial reaction was that of excitement and intrigue. Fans had longed for ‘The Game’ to take over the position on the main roster that he had flourished in during his tenure heading NXT.
As written by Dave Meltzer in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, however, it led to an uproar in the AEW locker room to such an extent that numerous talent reportedly handed in their request to be released:
“When Paul Levesque took over from Vince McMahon, WWE contacted a number of former WWE talents that were working there that either had left on their own or that Vince McMahon had fired. [Malakai] Black was not the only person to ask for his release at the time. Others did not ask for their release and were happy with AEW and contacted management, which led to Megha Parekh, head of legal, writing a letter threatening WWE for interference in contracts.”
Malakai Black has been granted his conditional release, having been the unnamed star to request their release a few weeks ago. It’s unknown if he’ll ever return to WWE, where he spent four years wrestling as Aleister Black without much to show for it.
Who, exactly, WWE contacted from AEW alongside Black is unknown, though it’s believed Adam Cole, who’s on a similar length deal to that of Malakai, was among them. Cole had great success in NXT prior to his August 2021 departure, being one of two Triple Crown Champions in the brand alongside Johnny Gargano.