Malakai Black has been rumoured to be leaving AEW, with reports he had his release granted by Tony Khan in recent weeks. It was confirmed that he did ask for his release two weeks ago, but that it was rejected by the AEW President.
Black last wrestled at AEW All Out 2022, where he teamed with Brody King and Buddy Matthews against Miro, Sting, and Darby Allin. The House of Black lost the match and Malakai Black has not been seen in AEW since, although the truth behind his absence might not be quite as you expected.
Is Malakai Black Leaving AEW?
Malakai Black has not been released by AEW and looks set to return to the company within the coming months. The former NXT Champion recently decided to take a leave of absence from AEW, with many even within the company thinking he had been released by AEW.
Taking to Instagram Live, Malakai Black revealed that he had been “given some time off” by AEW boss Tony Khan, in order to heal from injuries and also work on his mental health. He has reportedly struggled with a back injury since early in his AEW career that almost caused him to retire from wrestling.
He also said that he would be seeing the fans again “very soon” and that he would be gone for a matter of weeks, maybe extending to a few months.
“I’ve been given time off by Tony [Khan] to take care of a bunch of stuff. All this stuff was weeks ago. I posted that statement as a summary for you to understand why I’m taking some time off. It is in the statement. It’s mind boggling.
“I will see you guys in a couple of weeks, maybe a couple of months,” he later added. “Like I said, I’m only taking some time off, that’s it.
“I’m fine. I’m going to be fine. Everything’s fine. You’ll see me right back in AEW pretty soon. I’m just going to take some time, that’s it.”
He also revealed that he did ask for his WWE release two weeks ago, due to a number of factors that have affected his and his wife Zelina Vega’s mental health. These included death, injury and suicide that deeply affected the pair and almost caused their retirement from wrestling.
“Both me and my wife have been affected by uncontrollable actions from the outside that resulted in loss of life, medical setbacks, 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 being upheld which resulted as a combination of all of these to a complete demoralization of life and career. This decision has been in my mind for the past six months.”
Despite all that he has gone through, Malakai Black will return to wrestle in AEW. Whether it be next week or three months down the line, he will be making more appearances in AEW and will hopefully remain the leader of his titular stable, The House of Black.
However, Buddy Matthews could be leaving AEW in the future, according to reports, although Brody King has admitted he is set to stay in AEW indefinitely. Hopefully upon his return, Black will finally reach his potential as the top heel in AEW and challenge Jon Moxley for the AEW Championship in a blockbuster match in AEW.
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