According to reports, Malakai Black has been granted a conditional release from AEW.
As PWMania.com previously reported, prior to the AEW All Out Weekend, there were contradictory reports regarding whether or not Black had requested his release from AEW, with some claiming the company had turned down his request. In addition to this, it was reported that Black has been struggling with a number of issues related to his personal and professional life that have an effect on his mental health. In terms of his creative direction, it was reported that Black was unhappy and frustrated, but one source stated that things had been resolved to some degree. According to reports, Black has repeatedly shown signs of concern regarding his mental health because of his personal life, and he has also shown signs of demoralization because of the creative booking and handling of his AEW character. Due to the circumstances surrounding Black, “#FreeMalakaiBlack” became a trending topic prior to the start of All Out. Then, it was disclosed by PWInsider that there was discussion of Black taking an extended break from professional wrestling, possibly permanently, in order to address the issues that have been placing a significant amount of strain on him.
According to Fightful Select, a number of AEW talent have indicated that they’ve heard Black is finished with the company for the foreseeable future as a result of his release being granted.
It has been pointed out that the release is contingent, which is not something that AEW does very often. Requests for talent releases are handled on a case-by-case basis by AEW, which in most cases does not even consider releasing talent for reasons other than disciplinary ones.
It is speculated that there are heavy restrictions placed on Black, and it is possible that the agreement entails additional provisions, such as conditions that would prevent Black from wrestling anywhere else in the near future. AEW sources are of the opinion, based on what they’ve heard, that the possibility of Black making a comeback to the company is still alive. A previous report indicated that Black still had 4 years remaining on the 5 year contract that he had signed.
It was rumored that AEW President Tony Khan was particularly interested in keeping Black, and he expressed his desire to have Black as a part of the brand “for years to come.” There were attempts to have conversations to salvage the working relationship that AEW saw as potentially fruitful. However, there was a recently a meeting held, and it was decided that if Black wanted out, they should probably allow it. During the All Out media scrum, Khan was asked about Black’s status, but he did not offer any comment in response to the question.
“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 when asked about the post-match bow to the crowd, which included Black blowing a kiss to the fans.
It was reported earlier in the week that Black was supposed to face Impact World Tag Team Champion Matt Taven at the NEW event in Niles, OH this coming Friday, but he withdrew himself from the booking.
The House of Black was unsuccessful in their match against Sting, Miro, and Darby Allin at the AEW All Out pay-per-view event on Sunday. After the match, Black was seen bowing and blowing a kiss to the crowd as he left. Aft er the match, fans in attendance saw Black, Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and Julia Hart hugging each other at ringside. One of those fans commented that all four appeared to be experiencing strong emotions.
A little more than one month after WWE released him on June 2, 2021 along with other personnel reductions due to budget cuts, Black made his debut for AEW on the Road Rager edition of Dynamite on July 7, 2021. Since joining AEW, Black has competed in a total of 24 matches, 19 of which resulted in victories; however, only ten of those matches were singles matches. Cody Rhodes was the only person to defeat him in a singles match. Black’s most recent victory in a singles match came against Penta Oscuro on the June 22 episode of Dynamite. Prior to that, Black’s most recent victory in a singles bout came against Brian Pillman Jr. on the January 5 episode of Dynamite. Additionally, he and King hold the PWG World Tag Team Championship.
As PWMania.com previously reported, Black disclosed at the beginning of August that he had been dealing with a serious back injury for quite some time, which at one point led him to believe that he would need to retire. Additionally, during the same 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.”
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for more.
