Malakai Black Says He Pushed AEW To Do Live Events

AEW recently announced it will begin running live house shows in March, meaning Malakai Black is finally getting his wish. The "House of Black" leader said on the "HardLore" music podcast Thursday that he'd been pushing AEW owner Tony Khan to start running house shows in order for wrestlers on the roster to get more reps in and for up-and-coming stars to continue to learn.

"It was at my request that we're doing live events," Black said. "Initially, [Khan] was like, 'Maybe.' And I kept hammering down on him and others started chiming in too. ... Eventually, he told me, what was it four or five months ago when I sat down with him, he basically said like, 'We're going to start doing live events in 2023' and I was like, 'Okay, put me on them.'" Khan said the promotion's "AEW House Rules" series will run "on select weekends in markets across the country." Black said he loves house shows, and "there's nothing more fun than live events because you can interact with the crowd."

"I think that a lot of young guys that are coming through now will need to learn how to work for cameras and learn how to get comfortable in front of an audience in a way that they don't forget about, like, 'Hey, take a breather and give people the opportunity to process what it is you just did,' " Black said. "That doesn't mean stand still and do nothing, but it's all these little, little things that a lot of the younger kids in that locker room are now going to be able to pick up and get better because that's the only way you're going to get better."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "HardLore" with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.