Backstage Report Offers Update On A Couple Of AEW Contracts

Speculation has recently been afoot about the AEW futures of House of Black members Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews. Earlier today, Fightful Select provided updates on where both wrestlers' contracts are at.

According to Fightful, Matthews is expected to stay with AEW moving forward. However, it is unclear how the company struck a deal. At one point, internal discussion alluded to Matthews having option years in his current AEW contract that could be added on should he stay with the company. Whether that is the case or if he signed a brand-new contract is currently unknown. Either way, the belief is that it was made official awhile back that he would be staying with the company.

The situation surrounding Black is more confusing, and puts his future with the promotion in question. AEW President Tony Khan publicly said in 2022 that Black had "nearly five years left" on his AEW deal. Soon after, Fightful reported that Black had a condition in his initial deal, signed in 2021, that could reduce his time with the company if desired. Some within AEW believe that at some point, two of these option years were applied. As a result, those individuals claim Black's contract now expires at the end of this year. However, that has not yet been confirmed. In other Black-related news, The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer stated earlier this month that he would "probably go back" to WWE whenever his contract expires.