The House of Black has moved on without Malakai Black after his alleged release from AEW following All Out 2022. The former NXT Champion signed for AEW last year, but back injuries and mental health issues have stalled his career.
Black was said to have asked for his release twice from AEW. The first was from August this year, which was denied by AEW President Tony Khan. However, following All Out 2022, he was reported have asked again, this time with Khan accepting his request with some conditions.
Those conditions have not been revealed but it is rumoured that he was let go on the basis that he would not be able to sign for WWE in the coming months. With Triple H now in charge of WWE, Malakai Black has a much better chance of stardom in the company now, and Khan wants to know that he wants to genuinely leave due to injuries and not just to jump ship.
This looked to have leave one of AEW’s spookiest factions out to dry – The House of Black was tailor-made around Malakai Black, with the team not just named after him but the gimmick based on his real life fascinations and beliefs.
The group contains four members, each of whom have taken on the satanic aesthetic employed by Black. The four members are (in order of them joining the group)
- Malakai Black – The founder and patriarch of the group
- Brody King – Former ROH Star was the second man to join the group
- Buddy Matthews – The Australian left WWE last year, joining AEW and the group in 2022
- Julia Hart – Formerly of “The Varsity Blondes”, Julia joined the group months after being hit by the “Black Mist” by Malakai Black
However, Malakai Black appeared to leave the group and the promotion at All Out. The leader of the House of Black kissed the fans goodbye after losing to the trio of Sting, Darby Allin and Miro. He also hugged his House of Black teammates before disappearing into the night, not to be seen again in AEW since.
House of Black Wrestled On AEW Dark Without Malakai
With the news following of his release, nobody knew quite what would happen to the House of Black. Whether they would continue without him or simply dissolve the group was unknown, but it seems like the team will continue even without their leader absent from the company.
Prior to this weeks AEW Dynamite, the House of Black wrestled during the AEW Dark: Elevations tapings. Brody King and Buddy Matthews took part in a tag team match, with Julia Hart in their corner. Malakai Black was not present for the bout with him assumed to be injured AND released from the company.
The last match the full House of Black took part in was in the penultimate match at AEW All Out 2022. Led out to the ring by Julia Hart, the trio of Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews wrestled in a six man tag match against some of AEW’s top stars.
The team battled Miro, Darby Allin and Sting in a brilliant tag team match that went on just before the main event of CM Punk vs Jon Moxley. Despite his injuries, Malakai Black led the House of Black’s charge against the face trio. While they battled valiantly, they could not withstand the power of Miro, the reckless abandon of Darby Allin and the legend of Sting. They lost the match despite having Julia Hart at ringside and an incredible entrance for them to start the match.
The post match was the most telling. Black hugged the other members of the stable after the match, before blowing a kiss and bowing to the crowd in what seemed to be his last appearance for the company. With the rest of The House wrestling without him in AEW, it seems to confirm that he is gone from the company but his group will live on in infamy without him.
The House of Black also recently lost in the AEW Trios Championship tournament to the Dark Order, when Black was pinned by Alex Reynolds. Brody King also recently faced Jon Moxley for the AEW Championship in a losing effort. He won the opportunity by defeating a host of AEW stars in a Battle Royal, last eliminating Darby Allin.
Would you like to see House of Black continue in AEW without Malakai Black?