The latest reported update has surfaced on Malakai Black and his future.
Following the January 8 edition of AEW Dynamite, it emerged that Malakai Black was believed to be finishing up with the company in the near future. While nothing has been officially confirmed regarding his next move, many would expect the 39-year-old to end up back with WWE, with it previously reported that his contract may expire around February or March. Now, the latest update has shed some light on how WWE see the former NXT Champion, as well as frustration within AEW and how Black had possibly been considering retirement.
Per PWTorch, it’s believed that, should Malakai Black make a return to WWE, there are influential figures there that see him as a potential top singles star.
“PWTorch has heard that there are influential people in WWE who are big fans of Black and see him as a possible top singles act in the company.”
-PWTorch
In terms of his time in AEW, it’s noted that many were frustrated with Malakai’s perception of being resistant to lose. Overall, it’s said that he and Tony Khan didn’t develop a strong rapport.
“Black was criticized by colleagues in AEW who were frustrated by the perception that he was resistant to “doing business,” including a reluctance to doing jobs and frequent claims of injury issues. He and Tony Khan never developed rapport.”
-PWTorch
While the prevailing belief remains that Black is in line for a comeback to WWE, the report details how he had told some in AEW that he was burned out from wrestling as a whole and even that he’d considered retiring.
“Although most assumptions are he’ll return to WWE, as he sees the landscape there more palatable with Paul Levesque in charge of creative rather than Vince McMahon, he had told some people in AEW in the last year or two he was burned out and just wanted time away and perhaps even mentioned potentially retiring.”
-PWTorch
Still, Black will soon move onto the next phase of his career and it doesn’t seem as if he’ll make a return to AEW TV before his contract expires. With it likely that he will head back to WWE, the situation remains one to keep an eye on in the coming weeks and months.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the future of Malakai Black as soon as we hear more.
