AEW missed on Malakai Black

Immediately after the Will Ospreay versus Buddy Matthews match, an interesting conversation erupted online. One that led to Fightful Select reporting that according to their sources, Malakai Black “was finishing up with AEW if he hadn’t already.” If Malakai Black’s time is done with All Elite Wrestling, there should be a conversation about whether the company missed with such a talented performer.

The debate about Black’s utilization in AEW is going to be a messy argument. When he joined AEW in July of 2021, fans were ready to see him shot to the moon. Black was a fan favorite who many felt did not get his fair shake after moving up to the WWE main roster. That was a story told many times at that point in WWE, and Black was one of the names who did receive poor booking direction. Moving to AEW seemed like an opportunity for Black and the fans to finally see just how far his star could rise.

Unfortunately, that would not be the case. In three plus years with the company, Black would only compete in 74 matches. He spent much of his time as the leader of the House of Black, but overall that faction wasn’t featured as the main event players fans wanted to see. As a singles performer, Black had 15 matches, putting together a 12-3 run. All Elite Wrestling protected him in that sense, but that protection never led to anything big.

Much of the last few years were full of online debates and speculation about Black’s status on the roster. The lack of consistency on screen did not help, as fans were quick to latch on to his long absences, adding fuel to the discourse that he was either unhappy or being difficult about creative. Often times, these stories are closer to the center rather than falling drastically at either end.

Still, there needs to be a conversation about how great of an opportunity Black was as a performer for AEW. In many ways, he was exactly what the promotion was in 2021. He was counterculture to what was deemed “successful” in sports entertainment. He was too different from the cookie-cutter mold that WWE stresses to never break. He was the type of attraction who could have drawn eyeballs to the AEW product well before some of the top names jumped to the company in the years to come. Black should have been a bigger star than the position he reached while in AEW and it’s true to point that out.

Fans often argue about promotions missing on their favorite performers. There are times when the conversations are correct, and perhaps Malakai Black’s run in All Elite Wrestling deserves consideration on the list.