Big Update On Malakai Black's AEW Status

It looks like Malakai Black may be done with All Elite Wrestling for the foreseeable future. According to Fightful Select, several talents within the promotion believe that Tony Khan has reluctantly accepted the House of Black leader's request to be let out of his contract.

The report states that Khan wanted to keep the former WWE superstar as he believed that he could a huge asset to the AEW brand "for years to come." The pair even had meetings that were said to be positive in regard to Black sticking around, but it seems that circumstances changed and they came to an agreement to grant his release recently.

Fightful also noted that Black's release is conditional and that the restrictions will prevent him from competing for other promotions, similar to WWE's 90-day non-compete clause. However, the specifics of the release agreement remain unclear at the time of this writing. In the past, AEW has mainly released talent after their contracts expire or for disciplinary reasons, so this case is quite unique for the promotion. That said, the company has released some stars who've asked to be let go, such as Kylie Rae.

Of course, many fans and pundits have speculated about Black's future in recent days, with the signs suggesting that he was leaving AEW. Black teased his departure at "All Out" this past Sunday, bowing to the crowd after the House of Black was defeated by Darby Allin, Sting, and Miro. However, it's possible that Black will return to AEW down the line, as AEW sources told Fightful that the door has been left open for him.

Elsewhere, CM Punk could leave AEW following his backstage altercation with The Elite following the "All Out" media scrum.