Malachi Black’s future is in question after AEW Dynamite; Match ending fuels speculation

Many wrestling fans were wondering if we had seen the last of Malachi Black in AEW after Wednesday night’s episode of Dynamite.

Black’s match against Adam Cole ended in a very strange way. Malachi willingly sat in the ring and clearly asked Cole to finish him off with a knee strike.

Black then rejected the attempted handshake and offered a hug instead. Adam Cole then put Malakai in front of the microphone as one of the best opponents he had faced in his career, drawing the crowd’s appreciation.

Needless to say, the online wrestling community had some questions.

Amid rumors that last night was a “send-off” for the former AEW Trios champion, Fightful Select delved into the matter but were unable to confirm whether Malachi Black is indeed done with AEW.

“The talk backstage at AEW in recent months has been that they believe (Black) will be ready by late 2024 or early 2025,” said Fightfuls’ Sean Ross Sapp. “Tony Khan himself said in 2022 that AEW signed a contract with Malachi Black for “almost five years.” However, we have since been told that this includes option years.”

Black made his AEW debut in June 2021 following his departure from WWE, but just a year later, rumors began to circulate that Malachi wanted to return to WWE. AEW has traditionally shown little interest in ending deals early, especially since it would open the door for them to join the company’s biggest competitor.

Former TNT champion Miro asked for his release from AEW earlier this year. In the weeks following this report, there was no information about his contract situation.

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