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

Black’s match against Adam Cole had a very strange ending. Malakai voluntarily sat in the ring and definitely seemed to ask Cole to finish him off by dropping a knee.

Black then rejected an attempted handshake and instead offered a hug. Adam Cole then put Malakai on the microphone as one of the best opponents he has faced in his career, prompting a show of appreciation from the audience.

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

Amid speculation that last night was a “farewell” for the former AEW Trios Champion, Fightful Select investigated the matter but were unable to confirm whether Malakai Black is truly done with AEW.

“The word behind the scenes at AEW in recent months was that they believed (Black) would be done towards the end of 2024 or early 2025,” said Fightfuls’ Sean Ross Sapp. «Tony Khan himself in 2022 had said that AEW had Malakai Black under contract ‘for almost five years.’ However, we have since been told that they include option years.”

Black debuted in AEW in June 2021 following his departure from WWE, but just a year later rumors began to surface that Malakai wanted to return to WWE. Traditionally, AEW hasn’t shown much interest in letting people out of their deals early, especially since it would open them up to the possibility of joining the company’s biggest competitor.

Former TNT Champion Miró asked for his release from AEW earlier this year. There have been no updates on his contract situation in the weeks since that report.

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