It has been another week of twists and turns on the Aleister Black/Malakai Black rollercoaster. Prior to today, reports had suggested that the recently released WWE star was not expected to re-sign with AEW, where he had worked from 2021 to 2025 before being released to return to WWE. Earlier on Wednesday, however, a new report emerged suggesting that Black could not only return to AEW, but was in active negotiations to return once his 90 day noncompete clause was up, though it was stressed that no deal had been reached between the two sides.

Hours later, cold water is being thrown onto that story. Fightful Select reports that, after reaching out to AEW regarding the story, they received a swift denial that there were any talks between AEW and Black at this time. For those hoping there is any possibility that Black and AEW could reunite, it was noted that there remained plenty of time between now and Black’s noncompete coming up, leaving the door open for a change and for the two sides to negotiate. 

While there may not be talks between AEW and Black at this time, an earlier report by Fightful stated that the bridge wasn’t completely burned between the promotion and the former AEW World Trios Champion. Many have speculated that Black would have a hard time making his way back to AEW following rumors that he had refused to lose matches, as well as at least two AEW stars, including MJF, publicly indicating they would not welcome Black back to the locker room.