Malakai Black lost the PROGRESS Men’s World Championship on Sunday at Chapter 198: When September Ends, held at the Electric Ballroom in London.
Cara Noir defeated Black, a former WWE wrestler, to regain the title just three weeks after losing it. Black had won the championship from Noir on September 6 during the Odyssey Tour stop in Manchester.
After Sunday’s match, however, Black made it clear that the loss does not mark the end of his current PROGRESS run. He said he plans to stay with the promotion for the long term and acknowledged that fans have shown a preference for the persona he used before joining WWE.
As Black put it, “You clearly made your preference… it’s not Malakai Black. It’s Tommy End.”
Tommy End was the name Black wrestled under during his first run with PROGRESS. Before his move to WWE, he won the PROGRESS Tag Team Championship with Michael Dante and challenged for the promotion’s world title several times.
His final match for the promotion before his current return came in January 2017.
Black also indicated after the show that Big Damo’s invitation played an important part in his return. Damo and Nikki Storm took over PROGRESS in May, a few weeks after both of them, like Black, left WWE.