Fightful Select is reporting that the belief among AEW talent is that Malakai Black has been released. AEW has not officially announced his release.
His exit from the company was not unexpected because, as first reported last week by Raj Giri, Black requested his release but it was denied at the time. After his match at All Out where he was pinned, Black waved to the fans and bowed before hugging the other members of the House of Black. See below for the fan video of Black saying goodbye. It was believed after Sunday that he was done with the company.
Giri reported the following last week about the reason why Black wanted out of AEW: “I heard an AEW star requested their release, and follow up sources indicate it was Malakai Black. He reportedly has repeatedly shown concerns about his mental health due to personal life and demoralization due to the booking and handling of his character.”
Black joined AEW a year ago after being released by WWE due to budget cuts. It’s unknown what he plans on doing in the wrestling business but a “conditional release” would suggest that there might be a non-compete clause so a WWE return would not be happening anytime soon.
That sure looks like a goodbye from Malakai Black. Is he leaving AEW or taking time off? pic.twitter.com/PEzb2Kl1FV
— Doug Rush (@TheDougRush) September 5, 2022
AEW talent are of the belief that Malakai Black was granted his conditional release from AEW. His original request for release was denied.
We've reached out to AEW for official word, but haven't heard back.
We have details on what talent have heard at https://t.co/jy8u4a7WDa. pic.twitter.com/y9dfWnTUZg
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) September 7, 2022
