WWE legend seemingly drops a hint at Malakai Black's future after AEW amid contract expiry rumors
A WWE Hall of Famer seemingly hinted at the future of the former NXT Champion, Malakai Black, amid the rumors of his AEW contract expiry. Black has not confirmed the rumors yet.
Malakai Black made his AEW debut back in 2021 and immediately made an impact with his first feud with Cody Rhodes. He later formed the House of Black faction along with Buddy Matthews, Brody King, and Julia Hart. However, Malakai has had an underwhelming run as a singles competitor in Tony Khan's promotion.
Last week on Dynamite, Malakai lost to Adam Cole in a singles match, and Cole offered him respect after the match, which seemed like a farewell for Black. It was recently reported that Black's contract might be up at the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025. The WWE legend in question, Jim Ross, hinted at Black's future as well.
Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross admitted that Malakai didn't get enough consistency in AEW and dropped a hint about his future, saying he would be an asset to any company amid contract expiry rumors.
“You didn’t get enough consistency. He could have been more deeply woven into the storylines over time. He’s one of my favorite characters. He’s a smart guy. He’s a hell of a worker. He can be a babyface or a heel. Wherever he’s going to go, he’s going to make money, and he’s going to be an asset to any company that he works for,” JR stated. [H/T: Inside The Ropes]
Malakai Black recently addressed retirement rumors
After his match with Adam Cole last week on Dynamite, fans on the internet began speculating whether Malakai Black is retiring or leaving AEW. Black recently took to his Instagram story to address all the speculations and confirmed that he is neither retiring nor leaving.
"Here we are once more, the match down, and again, everybody here is, 'Oh, he's retiring because of his injuries, and this and that!' Well, neither of these things. I'm not injured, nor am I retiring, nor am I leaving."
Henceforth, only time will tell what the future has in store for Malakai Black amid contract expiry rumors.