Malakai Black believed to be done in AEW

Originally posted on F4WOnline.com | By Josh Nason | Last updated Jan 9, 2025 10:32 AM ET

Image: AEW

Malakai Black’s days in AEW may have finally come to an end.

Fightful reported on Wednesday night that those they spoke with in AEW believed he is either done or will be finishing up. Dave Meltzer added on Wrestling Observer Radio that when he asked, he was neither given a denial or verification. Both Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez said the rumor backstage was that the 39-year-old is done with the company.

This news comes after Will Ospreay’s promo following his win over Buddy Matthews that opened Wednesday’s Dynamite where he said Matthews and Brody King don’t need a leader. Black, Matthews and King have been the faction known as the House of Black since February 2022.

In a promo shared on X afterward, Matthews said those words from Ospreay didn’t fall on deaf ears:

EXCLUSIVE @SNM_Buddy comments on the words spoken after his intense match with Will Ospreay, giving his take on the aftermath! pic.twitter.com/Xyhh2D6Snx
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 9, 2025

Black was in the news Monday as he will work an indie match this weekend.

Fightful had previously reported that Black’s contract had option years after 2024 with Tony Khan previously stating Black was under contract until 2027. He signed with AEW in July 2021 after being released by WWE.

If Black is done, it ends an at-times tumultuous run in the company.

After taking some time off to “recalibrate” his life, Black said in September 2022 that he requested a release, but when a report came out that he gained a “highly conditional” release, he denied it, saying he would be back soon. It’s unclear what happened on both sides during this time.

This past November after a Dynamite match with Adam Cole where they hugged afterward and Cole then put him over as if he was leaving, Black took to social media again to deny he was leaving or retiring.

Black wrestled in three matches since then, all trios or tag teams. He last appeared at November’s Full Gear. If he is done in AEW, he leaves with 71 matches under his belt, no singles titles, and a 175-day run as AEW Trios Champions with Matthews and King. Only 15 of his 71 matches were singles bouts with just five this year.

Black dealt with several injuries in his tenure including a back injury he thought would force him into retirement as well as a calf tear and hyperextended knee.

His wife, Zelina Vega, is currently with WWE. While he said the last few years were a “slow death” for his character in WWE, Meltzer had reported at the time there was a belief WWE felt they made a mistake in releasing him and wanted to re-sign him before he went to AEW.

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This article first appeared on F4WOnline.com and was syndicated with permission.

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