Buddy Matthews is denying recent reports made about his status with All Elite Wrestling.

The House of Black member was trending yesterday after a promo he cut at Saturday’s Fight Life Pro Wrestling event surfaced, where the former NXT cruiserweight champion said he was stepping away from pro-wrestling to figure some things out. Matthews added that the things had been weird since the AEW release of Malakai Black, but that he appreciated the fans support since the group was formed earlier this year.

However, that would not be the end of the story. A report would emerge later in the day revealing that Matthews, like Malakai, was also unhappy with how his run with AEW was going, and that he could potentially be on his way out. It was not specified whether Matthews was trying to get out of his AEW contract, or if the company was attempting to get ride of him since the group’s plans fell through. His stablemate Brody King confirmed on Twitter that he wasn’t planning on leaving AEW anytime soon.

Matthews Has Denied The Reports

This would all spell disaster if not for one thing…Matthews calling all the recent reports lies. He took to Twitter late last night and released a GIF from the all time classic sitcom Seinfeld, which shows Elaine shouting out “Fake, Fake, Fake, Fake.”

To add fuel to the fire the AEW Twitter account shared a happy birthday post for Matthews, who just turned 34.

Stay tuned for more updates on the situation.

The House of Black may have crumbled in All Elite Wrestling but Brody King isn’t going anywhere.

At AEW All Out, House of Black battled Miro, Darby Allin, and Sting in a Trios match. Malakai got a taste of his own medicine in the match as Sting spit the green mist in his eyes. Darby followed it up with the Coffin Drop for the pinfall victory.

After the match, Malakai Black stayed behind on the entrance ramp and waved goodbye to the crowd. He later would speak at an independent wrestling event and state that he needed time to “recalibrate”. Black also released a statement that can be read here.

Buddy Matthews and Brody King battled Sting and Darby Allin at Rampage: Grand Slam this past Friday night. This was apparently Buddy’s send-off from the company as he got green mist in his eyes as well. The Great Muta made a shocking appearance in AEW and helped Sting. Muta spat mist in Buddy’s eyes and Sting hit him with the Scorpion Death Drop for the victory.

Buddy appeared at a Fight Life Pro Wrestling event and confirmed he will be going away for a little while like Malakai Black. He used the word “recalibrate” as well and quoted Malakai saying “this isn’t goodbye, this is see you later.”

The remaining House of Black members currently in All Elite Wrestling are Brodie King and Julia Hart.

Brody took to Twitter and shared the “I’m not leaving!” GIF from The Wolf of Wall Street. The 35-year-old signed with All Elite Wrestling in January 2022.

King battled Jon Moxley for the AEW Interim Championship on the July 6th edition of Dynamite but came up short. It will be interesting to see what lies ahead for Brody in AEW.

Malakai Black is an interesting star to follow now that he has confirmed that fans haven’t seen the last of him competing inside of the squared circle. 

As previously reported, Black received a conditional release from AEW despite having years left on his deal, which indicates that he has no plans to work for AEW President Tony khan again. 

Malakai Black Returning to WWE?

During today’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed Black’s situation and how he wanted to return to WWE now that Triple H is in charge of creative. 

“He wrestled last night, which is interesting,” Meltzer said. “Then he put out a statement today and he wanted out from AEW. I guess we’ll see what happened. Obviously, he wanted to go back to WWE and he had a lot of time left on his deal. I think 4 and a half years left on the deal. It’s an interesting thing because it’s really difficult to keep someone who is unhappy under contract for that length of time. He did sign for that length of time. The reason you sign people to contracts is so that they can’t it they get unhappy or somebody makes an offer somewhere else, they can’t just go the next day. The whole reason he was signed to a 5-year big money contract was so if something happened in WWE and they wanted him back and they changed his mind, that they had him and they could book him for all those years. So it becomes an interesting situation and the same goes in the other direction too.”

It has yet to be confirmed that Black was offered a deal to return to WWE, but there have been multiple reports noting WWE has allegedly reached out to contracted AEW talent about coming back or joining the promotion. 

Meltzer brought up how Black wasn’t used much by AEW because he has been dealing with an injury. 

“I guess we have to wait for it to play out and see what the situation is. Basically, it’s what type of a deal he and Tony Khan came up with. Tony Khan wouldn’t talk about it. He talked a lot but didn’t say any specifics as to what the deal is. The story going around was that it was a conditional release and what that meant, I don’t really know. The assumption of a conditional release is that it’s probably something where he can’t just go right to WWE. Maybe there’s a timeframe or something like that. I don’t think he would agree to it if the timeframe was four and a half years.”

H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription

Malakai Black has broken his silence in regards to the rumors surrounding his release from All Elite Wrestling.

House of Black competed in a 6-man tag team match against Miro, Darby Allin, and Sting at AEW All Out on September 4th. Sting spit mist in Malakai’s eyes and Darby followed it up with the Last Supper for the pinfall victory. Following the match, Malakai blew a kiss to fans and took a bow on the entrance ramp.

Malakai was reportedly granted a conditional release from All Elite Wrestling following the PPV. AEW president Tony Khan revealed during a conversation on Busted Open Radio that Malakai Black had almost five years remaining on his deal.

He addressed the crowd after his match at a Prestige Wrestling show this past weekend. Malakai said he needs a few weeks, or months, to recalibrate himself and put the past two decades into perspective. Black added “I promise you this is not a goodbye, it’s we’ll see each other soon”.

Malakai Black Issues Statement

In addition to addressing fans at the Prestige Wrestling event over the weekend, Malakai released a statement on his Instagram account. He said that he asked for his release from AEW due to several setbacks, including the suicide of a close friend and injuries. The 37-year-old added that he’s taking some time to “recalibrate” the last two decades of his life.

You can check out his entire statement below:

All.

Firstly thank you all for your messages, know they are being read and appreciated. With all the turmoil going on in the landscape of Professional Wrestling I took the time to think of my words but also needed to wait until conversations between mine and AEW’s camp had come to a conclusion.

Firstly, I dislike reading parts of my private conversations between myself and AEW in regards to my mental well being on the internet. These conversations were private and not meant to be shared with the public. As by now most people realize I am a very private person and do not feel the need to have stuff like this out on the internet.

If you’ve been following me longer than a cup of coffee you’re aware I’ve spoken about them prior but would like to be the one deciding when this finds it’s way to the public and not through someone else’s mouth, as with anything through the lips of someone else: that story gets distorted.

Secondly, to be in line with the above, they also need context:

I did indeed ask for my release, the last 2 years of my life have lended to a lot of set backs. Both me and my wife have been affected by uncontrollable actions from the outside that resulted in loss of life, medical set backs, career jeopardizing, the suicide of a close friend and a close family member almost losing their life, then experiencing an injury that I was sure was the end of my career.

I spend every week going through several sessions of rehab, dry needling and therapy just to be able to walk and compete. Now this being the tip of the iceberg and with the combination of the promises in my professional field that were not upheld which resulted as a combination of all of these to a complete demoralization of life and career. This decision had been in my mind for the past six months.

It’s hard to really put a finger and say “this was the moment it all went wrong.” But I can tell vou after many years that I have learned from a rational point of view to see when I need to hit the breaks; which is what this is.

Perhaps once my mind settles on certain things and processes the last 2 years a bit better I will convey (via a different platform than written out) what the exacts were that happened, and have a more informed conversation about them.

For now know that I am good, and am taking, for the first time in 22 years, a few months to recalibrate the last 2 decades of my life.

Lastly, I have read a few narratives online in regards to my “release”, mental health and my personal life that I can summarize swiftly; if it didn’t come from me, it didn’t happen. Stuff about conditional releases, stuff in my marriage or using said mental health to leverage the other when as I said before that part wasn’t even going to be part of the public conversation are false. My marriage is fine, I am fine. It is just time to make sure those things stay that way.

Once again, I appreciate your support and we will see each other soon enough.

MB

Malakai Black may be gone from AEW, but the influence of the former NXT Champion isn’t going with him.

The Dutch wrestler parted ways with AEW earlier this month, after being granted a conditional release from the promotion.

The Trademark

On September 8, AEW filed a new trademark for the term ‘House of Black.’

The group that Black led until his AEW departure now consists of Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and Julia Hart.

There have been no words on what AEW has planned for the faction, other than this trademark filing.

The filing allows AEW the use of the term for merchandise for “beanies; Hats; Shirts; T-shirts.”

Black’s final match came at AEW All Out 2022, where he, King and Matthews lost to Darby Allin, Sting, and Miro.

Black’s Departure

Malakai Black joined AEW last year, but his tenure with the company has been short-lived.

Black requested his release earlier this year, which was reportedly denied by Tony Khan.

Despite talks between the two going well, Khan has agreed to the release, though with conditions that are believed to be similar to WWE’s non-compete clause.

It has been reported that a personal issue has been having a toll on Black’s mental health, and that he has been considering a lengthy, possibly permanent break from wrestling.

Black is the latest prominent name to leave AEW, after Cody Rhodes departed in February and Bobby Fish decided recently not to renew his contract.

Malakai Black has been pulled from an upcoming appearance due to “health issues.”

Black was slated for the upcoming Northeast Wrestling show on Friday, where he was billed to face Matt Taven. Jay Lethal and Enzo Amore. However, the promotion has announced that Black has been pulled from the show due to “health issues.”

The promotion is currently searching for a replacement for Black.

Malakai Black was recently granted a conditional release from his contract with All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The former leader of the House of Black faction joined AEW in 2021.

However, reports suggest that Black was dealing with personal issues and could be considering a hiatus from professional wrestling. Of course, Black’s release was a conditional one.

With that being said, the conditions of those release have not been made public. However, it’s believed that a big one could be not signing with WWE until the duration of their original agreement is complete.

This is certainly interesting considering AEW president Tony Khan noted in July that “Malakai Black has almost five years left on his deal. I wouldn’t expect him going anywhere anytime soon.”

Black’s exit was subtly hinted at after he bowed and waved goodbye to the Chicago crowd a AEW All Out this past weekend, after House of Black’s loss to Sting, Miro, and Darby Allin.

Amid the chaos surrounding the events that transpired following Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view, another performer has quiet been granted a release from the company.

Malakai Black, leader of the House of Black faction, is reportedly done with All Elite Wrestling. The Dutch-born star joined the promotion back in 2021, where he began a hot feud with Cody Rhodes. He also built the House of Black, a menacing faction comprised of Brody King, Buddy Matthews and Julia Hart.

In recent weeks, it’s been reported that Black has been dealing with personal issues and was considering taking a hiatus from pro wrestling. On Wednesday, Fightful reported that AEW talent is of the belief that Black has been granted a ‘conditional’ release. Although the terms of the release have not been made public, one would assume AEW President Tony Khan has allowed him to leave AEW with the condition that he cannot sign with WWE until the duration of their original agreement.

Just weeks ago (late July), Khan stated, on Busted Open Radio, “Malakai Black has almost five years left on his deal. I wouldn’t expect him going anywhere anytime soon.”

The news comes after Black bowed and waved goodbye to the Chicago crowd following the House of Black’s loss to Sting, Miro, and Darby Allin at Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view.

What Happens With The House Of Black

The faction hit an unfortunate rough patch with Black being banged up and Buddy Matthews going down with injury, which kept them from any major storylines on AEW programming.

AEW has yet to confirm the release of Black publicly, but with the ongoing drama between CM Punk and The Elite, it’s understandable that announcing the loss of a big star is not their top priority.

• Malakai Black Talks About His Relationship With Tony Khan

Malakai Black, leader of AEW’s House of Black faction, appears to be on his way out of the company.

Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view from Chicago was another huge night for Tony Khan’s promotion, but could also mark the end of the line for Black. At least, for the foreseeable future.The House of Black competed in the penultimate match on the card. In six-man tag-team action, the House of Black lost to Sting, Darby Allin and Miro.

After the match concluded, the House of Black embraced one another at ringside.

The group exited the ringside area. As they arrived on the stage, Black blew a kiss to the audience and bowed. Here’s footage of the scene, courtesy of Twitter user KayyDott:

Leaving AEW?

In the run-up to AEW All Out 2022, it had been reported that Black had requested his release from the promotion.

Wrestling reporter Raj Giri recently stated that that Black “has repeatedly shown concerns about his mental health due to personal life and demoralization due to the booking and handling of his character.”

A follow-up report from PW Insider indicated Black is dealing with “a personal situation” that’s been weighing heavily on him. “He’s privately talked about taking a long, perhaps permanent, break from professional wrestling.”

• Malakai Black Comments on His Relationship With Tony Khan

AEW President Tony Khan was asked about the situation during the post-show media scrum, but had no comment about Malakai Black’s symbolic bow.

Tony Khan has revealed two top stars who have years left on their All Elite Wrestling (AEW) deals.

The AEW president was recently a guest on Busted Open Radio where he discussed the contract statuses of two of his top stars. Those being Adam Cole and Malakai Black.

With Vince McMahon now out at WWE, and Triple H taking over creative, there has been speculation that some recently departed stars could consider returning.

However, in regards to Cole and Black, specifically, Khan notes that the pair are still contracted with AEW for several more years.

“Adam Cole is signed until 2027 now,” Tony Khan said. “I wouldn’t expect to see him going anywhere anytime soon. Malakai Black has almost five years left on his deal. I wouldn’t expect him going anywhere anytime soon.”

Cole spent five years with WWE after signing with the company in 2017. During his time with the company he never left the developmental brand of NXT, however, he became a staple in the brand.

His run resulted in an NXT Championship win, along with a NXT North American Championship, as well as an NXT Tag Team Title reign.

Cole put on some memorable matches for the brand, and admitted it was an emotional exit for him when he decided to leave. Especially given the relationship he built with Triple H and Shawn Michaels, who were very hands on during his run with the company.

Soon after, he made his shocking debut at the AEW All Out pay-per-view (PPV), reuniting with his former Bullet Club brethren Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. This moment was especially memorable, as it was followed by the debut of Bryan Danielson just moments later.

As for Black, he also spent five years with WWE after signing with them in 2016.

Black spent most of his time with WWE on NXT as well, however, he was eventually called up to the main roster. Although he was a top singles star on NXT, winning the NXT Title at one point, he never seemed to get anything going as a singles competitor on the main roster.

He signed with AEW in July of 2021, making his debut on an episode of Dynamite.

Darius Martin, one-half of the tag team Top Flight, is injured and is sidelined from in-ring action.

He previously missed a year of action when he tore his ACL. Darius returned on AEW Dynamite as part of the AEW World Tag Team Title Number One Contendership Casino Tag Team Royale. The Young Bucks won the match to head into AEW Revolution as Martin was eliminated last.

Martin performed short of a dozen matches since his return, only to suffer another injury. There were reports of him suffering from a leg injury and missing significant ring time. Martin cleared up the air and said that his injury has nothing to do with wrestling by writing on Twitter, “What I’m currently dealing with had NOTHING to do with wrestling but I’m glad everyone else out there seems to know more about my health than I do.”

There was still no other information available about his injury until Malakai Black finally gave us an update about him.

Appearing on The Universal Wrestling Podcast, Black said (as transcribed by SEScoops): “I’ve wrestled Dante Martin, but his brother, unfortunately–I wish him a speedy recovery–he had a really nasty car accident. He’s out for another, like, six to nine months.”

Malakai Black was speaking about working with young talent and when speaking of working with Dante Martin, he gave an update on Darius’ health.

There are wrestlers who like to feel the atmosphere of an arena and build a match or a promo based on how the crowd is reacting. Then there are talents who meticulously plan out every little detail for anything they do well ahead of time. Malakai Black is a star that belongs to the latter category.

The AEW star had an interview with Barstool Rassling. He discussed how every aspect of his character has a deeper meaning and claimed what we saw during his NXT days was a collaboration between him and Triple H. When asked how things have changed since joining AEW, Black detailed how Tony Khan provides freedom to his stars:

“Tony is a ‘do whatever, you want, but run it by me and maybe I’ve got some ideas [guy]’, and he does have good ideas.” said Malakai Black, “Tony and me have sat down on numerous occasions and kind of like, you know, thought about some ideas or like, I’ll tell him something and then he’s like, ‘hey, maybe we should do this.’

Because it’s always good to get perspective on the outside from someone else. Because sometimes you have an idea that in your head is very streamlined and then someone else kind of brings an element [hearing which] you go ‘Oh, that works way better.’ That’s the kind of relationship that I have with Tony.”

If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

• Malakai Black Talks The History Of Poison Mist In Wrestling

Malakai Black has been using the poison mist frequently since debuting in AEW. He has seemingly blinded PAC, caused Julia Hart to wear an eye patch, and misted several others as well.

During a recent interview with SHAK Wrestling, Black spoke about some of the history the poison mist has in wrestling. When asked to rank the top mists in wrestling, Black stated that The Great Muta should be on the top of that list. Somewhat surprisingly, Black includes Triple H’s water mist in his rankings.

“Muta’s on top,” Black said. “Any other answer in terms of mists is a fraudulent answer. I’d say Hunter’s, Triple H’s entrance water mist after that because it’s such a characteristic of who he was with this entrance, obviously because of who he is and what he’s done.”

The Vampire Warrior aka Gangrel also made Black’s list. Also surprisingly, Black included Carlito, who used to spit a mist of apple chunks at his opponent.

“I would say Gangrel’s because it was a completely unique standout. And I say last, but like, it’s definitely not least because it’s difficult to fit that in, Carlito was the same as Gangrel because they added so much to what it is they were doing. It complimented their work. So I’d say those are tied, and they’re definitely not tied in a negative sense.”

In addition to the names mentioned above, wrestlers such as Yoshihiro Tajiri, Killer Khan, The Great Kabuki, Rosemary in Impact, and Asuka in WWE have all used the mist previously.

The full interview with Malakai Black is available in the player below:

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the above transcriptions.

Brody King is officially in AEW and he’s all in on the House of Black.

For weeks, Malakai Black had been teasing bringing in a partner and many speculated it would be Brody. After all, the two are the current PWG Tag Team Champions. Together, they are known as Kings of the Black Throne.

Brody King appeared and attacked Penta El Zero Miedo and The Varsity Blondes on behalf of Malakai Black on the January 12th episode of AEW Dynamite.

The appearance confirms the report from Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net back in December.

King had been working for ROH before the company announced its hiatus. He had also been appearing on NJPW Strong.

Brody King is officially signed with All Elite Wrestling. He’s declared, “THE WAR HAS BEGUN.”

All Elite Wrestling talent Malakai Black gave fans an explanation for his name. In the WWE, his name was Aleister Black.

Comicbook’s Connor Casey interviewed Black about his name and the symbolism behind his black eye. Since his debut in AEW, wrestling fans have speculated about his face. In response, Black gave a unique explanation for his name change and appearance.

Casey transcribed the quotes from the interview.

“A lot of people started really digging through my old stuff and really found a bunch of really cool creative things. They haven’t completely discovered everything that I’ve did already with Malakai or am doing as Malakai, said Black.

He continued, “But, one of the things that I can tell you is that when I released ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’ little movie, video trailer, teaser, whatever you want to call it. There’s a funny thing where a lot of people thought that it was a dig towards my former employer, but it was actually not at all. It was a creative way for me to ease out of Aleister and move into a different realm.”

While explaining the name change, Black revealed that a demon possesses him. The demonic possession is his way of acknowledging his time in WWE but evolving his gimmick in AEW.

“The idea behind it is that this greater entity known as Moloch or Malakai in this case, this messenger, orchestrated this whole idea that Tom was in a, what’s the best word to describe this, had this episode that lasted almost five years wherein he believed that he was Aleister and that he believed that he was a fallen angel with memory loss or Lucifer or Satan, however you want to call it,” said Black.

Malakai Black is Possessed

Black seems to have thought a lot about his gimmick in AEW. Black hasn’t clearly explained the reasoning for his name change and appearance on AEW television. However, he has continued to evolve the character slowly. His eye continues to look worse, and Black explains that it’s the result of the demon.

“He(referring to himself) had this episode, this manic episode, where actually it was Malakai who orchestrated all of this and through the injury in his eye was able to kind of like fracture apart in being able to manifest himself through the eye,” said Black.

He continued, “That’s also why this thing on my face keeps growing and growing because he becomes stronger and stronger, and it reacts to certain events and certain happenings. So in a way, it’s a continuation, but at the same time, there’s a layer above the layers.”

The Use of the Poison Mist

Black continues to add new elements to his gimmick. He has started to spew poison mist from his mouth into people’s eyes. Yesterday, Black used the poison mist to attack Julia Hart and blinded her. It’s unclear if the mist is due to Black’s demonic possession. However, it does seem Black has more ideas for his gimmick to continue to evolve.

AEW Full Gear has garnered praise but not everyone walked out unscathed.

Eddie Kingston was in a high-profile match at the PPV, which was held inside the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Nov. 13. He went one-on-one with CM Punk in a grudge match. Ultimately, Punk emerged victorious.

Malakai Black was also in action. He teamed with his former NXT rival Andrade El Idolo to take on Cody Rhodes and PAC. Cody and PAC won the match.

Full Gear Injuries: Kingston & Black

It’s been said that both Kingston and Black were banged up at Full Gear.

Eddie Kingston was expected to appear at the Big Event wrestling convention in Queens, NY.

Northeast Wrestling has announced that Kingston will no longer appear due to a shoulder injury. The promotion noted that Kingston was scheduled to undergo medical tests.

There is good news, however. Kingston took to his Twitter account to reveal that his medical tests have come back negative.

As for Malakai Black, he was going to make an appearance on behalf of Rack Attack Promotions. It has been announced that Black also had to pull out of his planned showing due to an injury, although the extent of it hasn’t been revealed.

“Unfortunately we have bad news Malakai Black was injured last night at Full Gear and will be unable to attend The Big Event today. I have just received the news.

“I will have a few different options for everyone attending. I will see everyone soon. We hope to make everyone happy.”

SEScoops will keep you posted once more information on the injuries of Kingston and Black is revealed.

Malakai Black has made a number of changes to his character since joining AEW. Though it appears that he hasn’t reached his final form just yet.

The mysterious star recently had an interview with Fulton County Post. He talked about things such as the circumstances leading to his WWE release and more.

Speaking of his AEW persona, Black claimed that fans will get to see a very interesting change in the behavior of his character in the coming two weeks:

“There’s a lot of things that I put into Malakai that I haven’t even shown, the interesting thing is that in the next two weeks you’re going to see a very interesting change within the aesthetics and the behavior of said character.”

• Paul Heyman Had Huge Plans For Malakai Black in WWE

Malakai Black also went into detail of the effort he has put into his current character. He described the various places he has taken inspiration from for his act and detailed the meaning behind the aesthetics of his entrance.

The former WWE star has been feuding with Cody Rhodes since his debut for AEW in July. He has also recently formed an alliance with Andrade El Idolo. We will have to see how the teased character changes affect this partnership.

Malakai Black has suffered his first loss under the AEW banner and it didn’t take long for him to speak out.

On the Oct. 23 edition of Dynamite, Black took on Cody a third time. Malakai was 2-0 over Cody going into their third encounter. The story going into the match was that Arn Anderson was able to get Cody to recenter his focus from Hollywood to the squared circle.

Malakai Black Reacts After Losing To Cody Rhodes

Things paid off for Cody as he was finally able to defeat Black. After the match, the “House of Black” took to his Instagram account to explain why he feels even in defeat, he has won.

“The entire world is a graveyard, and if you think this was about putting my shoulders on the mat; you’re rudely mistaken. My job was to destroy you and your world. The entire world hates you, you’ve become the beast I set out to make you, and I was willing to sacrifice my blood for it. Enjoy the seeds I planted for months. House always wins.”

Black decimated Cody on the Homecoming edition of Dynamite when they first met. Cody teased stepping away from the ring for a while when Malakai Black nailed him with Black Mass after the match. Black then won their rematch at AEW Grand Slam by spitting mist in Cody’s eyes and rolling him up for the pinfall.

Malakai Black admits sacrifices have to be made with his marriage to Zelina Vega.

Black and Vega are in the wrestling industry but in different promotions. The two used to be able to call WWE home. They were both released by the promotion and while Black landed on his feet in AEW, Vega ended up returning to WWE.

Being a star for a top wrestling promotion means you are bound to be on the road. During an appearance on The Zaslow Show, Malakai Black admitted that while things get tough, he and Zelina Vega knew exactly what they were getting themselves into.

“Do I see her as much as I want to? No, but we both made a conscious decision. The one we made years ago that we wanted to be professional athletes, and we know what comes with that. She’s no stranger to being on the road. She’s been doing this for 12 years, I’ve been doing this for 21 years. We made a commitment to each other, so yes, sometimes it gets tough, and yes, it requires extra travel and extra sacrifice. But at the end of the day, you have to realize it’s temporary. It’s not going to last forever.”

Black went on to say that he and Zelina are in the midst of building their own mini-performance center near Tampa. The goal is to help aspiring wrestling hone their craft and eventually wrestle for promotions.

Black also said that he sees himself having 10 more years in the wrestling business as a performer. He believes that he’ll remain as a top guy for five years, while the other half will be dedicated to elevating the next generation of talent.

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcribed quotes

Malakai Black enjoyed the experience of doing a segment on AEW TV with Rosario Dawson.

Black and Cody Rhodes had been involved in a personal rivalry. Black had decimated Rhodes on an episode of AEW Dynamite. With Rhodes looking to get revenge, he enlisted the help of his Go Big Show co-host, Rosario Dawson. Dawson was quite active, jumping on Malakai’s back to distract him.

Appearing on the AEW Unrestricted Podcast, Black said Dawson was “ecstatic” to be involved in the angle. “She had a great time backstage, had a great time on TV,” said Black.

Black has been embroiled in a feud with Cody Rhodes’ Nightmare Family since joining All Elite Wrestling. He was pleasantly surprised by Dawson’s first brush with pro wrestling.

“Me and Cody really beat the sh*t out of each other. That definitely one of the hardest brawls I’ve ever had, as short as it was. Me and Cody, despite the interaction so far at this point being limited, every time we got physical, we got physical, and Rosario jumped right into that because I had to tuck my chin, but she came in and just cinched it in.”

Black continued, “I was like, oh, okay, that’s what we’re doing today. But it’s the excitement of TV, and obviously, it’s new, but she did really well. And she was very thankful. She was very appreciative, and she had a great time.”

He added that it was an incredibly cool experience to be involved in an angle with such an esteemed American actress.

AEW hasn’t been shy in bringing in celebrities. We’ve seen the likes of Mike Tyson, Shaquille O’Neal, and now Dawson be involved in some capacity.

Malakai Black and Cody Rhodes ended up having a rematch on the AEW Grand Slam edition of Dynamite in New York City. Rhodes was far more competitive in the rematch, but Black spat mist in Rhodes’ eyes and rolled him up for the win.

Malakai Black had a bittersweet run in WWE. While he was able to impress everyone with his performance in NXT, his main roster run can only be described as lackluster.

The former NXT champion recently appeared on the Pro Wrestling 4 Life podcast. He talked about a number of things including the WWE release of Bray Wyatt and more.

Talking about his recent debut at AEW, Black said that it’s a great company to be a part of. He then claimed that he doesn’t see himself going back to WWE in future:

“I think AEW is making really cool waves. It’s a great company to be a part of, and I think I came in at the right time.

I don’t see myself going back to WWE, and it’s not out of spite. That’s just because I feel this is a right move for me. This is a better position for me.”

• Malakai Black Details Meeting With Vince McMahon Before WWE Release

Apart from this Malakai Black also discussed the much-talked rumors about Daniel Bryan and CM Punk possibly joining the AEW roster very soon.

The former champion said that he would love to see Bryan make the transition while also claiming that he doesn’t know anything about Punk’s future. You can check out his comments at this link.

Malakai Black has weighed in on the possibility of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan joining AEW.

The wrestling world has been buzzing about reports and rumors of Punk and Bryan making their way to AEW television. Punk hasn’t been seen in a wrestling ring since 2014, while Bryan is fresh off his run on WWE TV.

Black, who is a recent AEW signee, appeared on Pro Wrestling 4 Life and told Sean Waltman that he doesn’t know if Punk truly is on his way to the promotion.

“Number one, I genuinely do not know if it’s true. I genuinely don’t. I haven’t heard anyone mention it. Obviously, there’s a buzz in the locker room. I think it’d be great. I think it really proves that the times have changed. I think it’d be a validation of how different everything is and how different the business is now. I don’t play the ‘us vs. them’ cards. I just don’t. I want everybody to be successful.”

Black then turned his attention to Bryan and said he’d love to see the former WWE Champion make the transition.

“I can see someone like Daniel pulling the trigger on that because he’s someone who has a great love for wrestling, and always wants to try different things and always has a different perspective on stuff. Sometimes, it’s just fun to think about the possibilities, and for me, obviously with my release, the possibilities became different. I can only imagine how his brain might work. I can only guess at it. I hope so. I can see him definitely showing up, but again, I don’t know.”

Would you like to see Malakai Black booked to face CM Punk or Daniel Bryan?

The WWE release of Malakai Black was one of the most surprising occurrences in the company this year, especially because he had only returned to WWE programming after months of absence, a week before his firing.

The former WWE star provided some more insights on the circumstances leading to his release while appearing on Talk Is Jericho. He detailed a meeting with Vince McMahon that took place before his WWE release.

Black explained that he had a normal conversation with the boss two weeks before his final WWE appearance. They talked about the future plans for him:

“Two weeks before I attacked Big E, on the night of the last vignette, I had a sit down with Vince. He was convinced of it and liked it. I wanted to get his thoughts as I hadn’t seen him in six months and a lot had happened.

I wanted to see how he was doing. We had a normal conversation. We did the attack on Big E and something about it didn’t feel right. I told my wife [Zelina Vega] as well.”

However, according to Malakai Black, the Boss looked at him with a feeling of disconnect which makes him think that he had already made his mind about the future of the former NXT champion:

“The way he looked, there was a disconnect. Not a disconnect as in, ‘I don’t get it,’ but I felt he made up his mind, even back then. It’s his company, it’s fine. When (the release) happened, Johnny Ace [John Laurinaitis] called me and even he was confused.

My wife was crying because she knew. She was about to come back and one of the main reasons she wanted to come back was because I was there.”

Malakai Black made his return to WWE programming during the May 21 episode of SmackDown. He ended up getting released after another week of absence on June 2. Black has since signed with AEW.

Malakai Black was a recent guest on Talk is Jericho. During the interview questions obviously arose about his recent departure from WWE. Talking candidly, Black explained how he knew the writing was on the wall moments after he attacked Big E in his comeback moment.

Talking to new AEW roster mate Chris Jericho, Malakai Black explained how he had spoken to Vince McMahon ahead of his comeback, and the boss seemed interested in the storyline. However, it never felt right, and once it happened, he knew things were not going to work out.

“Two weeks before I attacked Big E. on the night of the last vignette, I had a sit down with Vince. And he was very convinced of it, he liked it. I just wanted to get his thoughts, I hadn’t seen him in six months, a lot happened at that point. So I wanted to sit down with him a little bit and kind of see how he was doing.”

“We had a little bit of, just a normal conversation. Like I said, I wanted to gauge, ‘How do you feel about it?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, no, I like it. I like it a lot,’ And then when we did the attack on Big E, I came back. Something about it just didn’t feel right, and I told my wife … I don’t know what it was. The way he looked, something about it, there was a disconnect.”

Malakai Black Doesn’t Hold a Grudge and is Happy to Be Wrestling Again

Talking more, Malakai Black said that ultimately, Vince is the boss at WWE, and so has the right to call the shots. He knew the moment he walked backstage after attacking Big E. One of those moments where you just look around, and you know.

“I kind of felt that he had made up his mind even back then. Which is, hey, it’s his company. It’s fine, no harm, no foul.”

Not long after his release Malakai Black realized his contract only included a 30-day no-compete clause. Something he couldn’t believe at first, but soon took advantage of, signing for AEW as soon as he could.

“I contacted someone within the company. I said, ‘Look, am I reading this correct?’ And this person said, ‘No, that’s correct. Even now, I’m looking at it, you have 30 days,’ and I’m like, ‘Alright, perfect.’”

Malakai Black’s debut in AEW will go down as one of the most shocking moments in their short history given the expected downtime people believed he would have following his release.

Malakai Black didn’t spend a lot of time on deciding which company he wanted to sign with after his WWE release. As it turns out, an old conversation with late Jon Huber aka Brodie Lee helped him in this decision.

The former WWE star recently appeared on The Wrestling Perspective podcast. He talked about things such as his desire to work with NJPW and more.

Discussing his decision to sign with AEW after his release, Black revealed that the name of the promotion popped into his head on the same day because of a conversation he had with Huber:

“I’ll be completely honest with you, the day I got released, AEW popped into my head. I had so many friends there. One of the last conversations I had with Jon Huber, rest in peace, he told me, ‘You’d love it here. You’d have so much fun here.’

That kind of always stuck with me because him and me,”said Black, “Every once in a while, would talk and there have definitely been moments where I was very frustrated.”

• Malakai Black Talks About His Immediate Reaction to His WWE Release

The former NXT champion was released from his WWE contract back in early June. He made his AEW debut during the July 7 episode of Dynamite.

Later reports revealed that WWE had forgotten to update Black’s contract when he was moved to the main roster. He was able to sign with AEW because his non compete clause with WWE lasted only 30 days, which is a standard for NXT talents.

Malakai Black is All Elite. Everybody saw the debut, and everybody saw the famous image. However, AEW is not the only company Black wants to fight.

Talking during a recent appearance on The Wrestling Perspective, Malakai Black talked about his long-term dream to work over in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling.

“One of the companies that I still want to do some stuff for, hopefully in the future, is New Japan. That would make my circle complete. That’s what I was raised on. I always wanted to go to Japan. I always wanted to go to New Japan. It has always been one of my ultimate goals, one of the last few things on my checklist is New Japan. Let’s hope in due time, someway, somehow, we can make that happen in the future.” Malakai Black explained.

The way Malakai Black fights would be a great fit for Japan, and there is no end to the number of mouth-watering feuds he could have with different members of the NJPW roster.

Malakai Black Could Use the Forbidden Door to Work Japan

While WWE only allows their athletes to perform on their own shows, AEW has made it clear that they want to work with others. They have a working relationship with several different promotions including IMPACT, AAA and NJPW. This means there is every chance that Malakai Black will get his wish. Whether it is for a full tour, sporadic appearances or as part of a cross-promotion event, fans can legitimately get excited by the thought of seeing him in an NJPW ring.

Black is a tough fighter. Muay Thai trained, and powerful striker, he would fit into the NJPW roster without much trouble.

However, first Malakai Black needs to finish the fight he started with Cody Rhodes. After attacking not only Cody but Arn Anderson during his shock debut for the company, Black needs to keep everything focused on extinguishing a fired up Cody Rhodes.