While the situation regarding Malakai Black’s status with AEW remains unclear, it appears that his time in Tony Khan’s promotion could be coming to an end.

According to a report from Fightful Select, the backstage belief is that Black will be departing the company, if he hasn’t already.

On the January 8, 2025 episode of AEW Dynamite, Will Ospreay defeated Buddy Matthews. Ospreay cut a promo after the match to announce that Matthews no longer needed a leader and suggested a bright future for Matthews.

It must be noted – there is no official confirmation of Black’s departure from AEW or that his contract has expired at the time of this writing.

In 2022, AEW President Tony Khan mentioned that Black had nearly five years left on his deal. He also claimed that there were options for additional years after 2025. As of this writing, there’s no word on whether those options have been exercised or declined. For now, Black is still listed on AEW’s roster page.

Black’s most recent appearance was at AEW Full Gear 2024, where he competed in a Four-Way match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship alongside Buddy Matthews.

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