Malakai Black is reportedly taking a long break from professional wrestling.
As PWMania.com previously stated, there were conflicting reports leading up to AEW All Out Weekend on whether Black had requested his AEW release, with some claiming the company denied the request. According to reports, Black has been dealing with some mental health issues in his personal and professional life. Although Black was said to be unhappy and frustrated creatively, one source claimed that things had been smoothed over to some extent. According to reports, Black has repeatedly expressed concerns about his mental health as a result of his personal life, as well as demoralization due to the creative booking and handling of his AEW character. Going into All Out, the Black situation made “#FreeMalakaiBlack” a trending topic.
In an update, PWInsider reports that Black is believed to be taking a break from wrestling. Black was supposed to face Impact World Tag Team Champion Matt Taven at the NEW event in Niles, OH this Friday, but he has pulled out.
According to PWInsider, Black has been dealing with a personal situation that has been weighing heavily on him, and he has privately discussed taking a long, possibly permanent, break from the business to deal with the issues.
The House of Black were defeated by Sting, Miro, and Darby Allin on Sunday’s AEW All Out pay-per-view. It was noted that after the loss, Black bowed and kissed the crowd. A fan photo of Black, Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and Julia Hart hugging at ringside after the match and kissing the crowd has gone viral. It was noted that all four appeared emotional, and the crow was cheering for Black at the time. The fan photo is shown below.
AEW President Tony Khan was asked about the post-match moment with Black, which did not air on the pay-per-view broadcast, during the post-All Out media scrum.
“I’m not sure, I can’t comment on that, though. That was for the live fans and it definitely got some people talking, so it is a thing that happened but no I can’t comment on that,” Khan responded.
As previously stated, Black revealed in early August that he had been dealing with a significant back injury that had him convinced he would have to retire. Last week, Black made the following post on his official Tumblr page:
“2 years of this. Sometimes it feels like all of it will be to no end, nor have any real meaning when it’s all over and done. It’s strange to think certain things in your life will be a memory with no attachments anymore while they were once the most important thing in your life.
“It truly feels like the entire journey happened for the sake of happening.”
As of this writing, Black had not commented on his future, and AEW has not confirmed his departure.
Last week, it was reported that Black was still under contract for the next four years of his five-year deal. Black made his AEW debut on the July 7, 2021 Road Rager edition of Dynamite, just over a month after WWE released him along with other budget cuts on June 2, 2021. The current PWG World Tag Team Champions are Black and King.
Since joining AEW, Black has worked 24 matches, 19 of which have been wins, but only 10 have been singles matches. His only singles defeat came at the hands of Cody Rhodes. Black’s most recent singles match was a victory over Penta Oscuro on the June 22 Dynamite, and his most recent doubles match was a victory over Brian Pillman Jr. on the January 5 Dynamite.
Here is the aforementioned fan photo from All Out:
Malakai Black hugging House of Black. All were emotional. Crowd was cheering for Malakai. #aew #aewallout pic.twitter.com/hoqujEZPSG
— Christine (@ShiningPolaris) September 5, 2022
