Malakai Black’s future in pro wrestling remains uncertain since his WWE departure, and he’s been in contact with MLW in recent months.
According to Fightful Select, preliminary conversations took place between Black and Court Bauer’s promotion. The discussions never advanced very far, and no offer or deal was reached. Despite that, things ended on a positive note with no issues between the two sides. Black remains a free agent.
Black was released on April 24 during the wave of cuts that followed WrestleMania 42. His second run with the company lasted roughly a year following his return on the April 2025 SmackDown.
WrestlePurists @WrestlePurists Follow Those spoken to familiar with the situation claimed that the conversations didn't go very far, but things didn't go awry or anything of that nature. He's still a free agent.
- @FightfulSelect
1:13 AM · Aug 17, 2026Rumors of a possible return to AEW, where he worked from 2021 through 2025, have also made the rounds. In May, however, the company denied it was in negotiations with Black at the time.
For now, the only confirmed landing spot is the independent circuit.
PROGRESS Wrestling has announced Black for three stops on their Odyssey Tour: September 4 in Edinburgh, September 5 in Leeds, and September 6 in Manchester. They’ll mark his first matches with the promotion since January 2017, when he was still working under the name Tommy End. Black is also a former PROGRESS Tag Team Champion alongside Michael Dante.