Malakai Black firmly denies the rumors about his release from All Elite Wrestling and says he'll be back there soon.
Previously, it was reported that Black asked for his release from AEW, and Fightful Select reported that it was denied. Black later posted a statement and confirmed that he asked for his release, and he also made it clear that he needed to take some time away to recalibrate himself.
On September 27, Black went on Instagram Live and firmly denied the rumors about his release. He started by stating that all of the rumors about him are not true. Citing his initial statement about the matter, he noted that he used quotation marks in his message to show that he didn't agree with the wording.
"Some people can’t seem to just shut the fuck up and create things that are not there, so I have to go out here again and have a conversation with you guys. So guys, how many times do I have to tell people to not trust people that are not in this business? If you can’t even get the years of my contract right, which is a very minuscule detail, then how are you expecting or how are people expecting these guys to know very intimate and private detailing in regards to my private business? My contract’s not five years, my contract’s never been five years. This is all bullshit, it’s all lies. So you know, I posted a statement and you, of course all of you, have read my statement, because even if you read my statement, it clearly reads that even release is in quotations. Now, if you don’t know what quotation means, it means that the author does not agree with said quote or said word choice. Or it also means that it’s not his wording. Then it is followed by a bunch of multiple things, in regards to my marital stuff, but it even says that my stuff about my conditional release, that it’s false. So how are you guys still thinking like, why are people still writing that I’ve got my release? Guys, I don’t know, why do you trust these people to tell you the truth? Because it’s not true. In a time where I’m supposed to take care of myself and kind of wind down, I have to deal with this kind of stupid bullshit from people who are not in the business and pretending that they are in the business with all their sources. You know, the worst thing about it is, for the past three days, [I’ve been getting] hateful comments and today, even two death threats. Death threats? Death threats? You wish death upon a person because of what someone else had said, and then says that it’s confirmed. It’s not confirmed. Clearly it’s not confirmed. None of it’s confirmed. There’s no confirmation because I haven’t left. That’s what this whole thing was about. I’ve been given time off by Tony to take care of a bunch of stuff. All this stuff has been played up like weeks. All this stuff was weeks ago," Black said.
He then made it clear that his statement was meant to offer everyone a summary as to why he'd be taking some time off. Black stated that anyone who has taken the rumors and reports about him and used them as fuel for hateful comments is stupid. He then noted that no one will take responsibility for getting the story wrong.
"I posted that statement was a summary for you to understand why I’d take some time off. Again, it’s in the statement. It is in the statement. It’s mine-boggling, if this isn’t enough incentive for you to stop believing these people, then I don’t know what is. Because if you were part of this whole mob that, like I said, sending me a bunch of hateful comments based on the words of someone else, then sorry, but you’re dumb. You’re stupid. Does anyone understand that in the time where I’m going through this stuff and I’m kind of dealing with a bunch of stuff in a very productive manner, that exactly doesn’t help, and what I hate about it is that none of these dirt sheets will take responsibility, none of these guys will take accountability and say, ‘Oh shit, we fucked up, I’m sorry. We should have probably not said that. Oh he’s going through some stuff. Maybe we should not. Maybe we should not make all these baseless assumptions because again as it turns out, it’s not true. None of it’s true. Not one single thing of it is true," he said.
Black continued, expressing his belief that dirt sheets don't care about him; instead, he stated that they incorrectly tie things together to form a narrative for the sake of clicks. He went on to emphasize that he is simply taking some time off, and fans will see him back in AEW at some point soon.
So again, if you were part of this mob that felt the need to send me death threats, well, then thank you dirtsheets because they don’t care about my mental health. They don’t care about your mental health. They don’t care about your feelings, they don’t care about my wife, they don’t care about my family. They don’t give a shit. All they want is dumb clicks with stuff that they’re making up. Because they’re tying bridges between things that are no longer there, they’re tying things… that don’t exist. Because they want the narrative to exist. But again, I’m sure, tomorrow there will be a different narrative, and tomorrow it’ll be, ‘Oh, we got the wrong information. Oh we heard it from this. Don’t blame us, we’re just reporting.’ A real person will own up to their bullshit. They will own up to their words and then say, you know what? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. If the words come out of your mouth, then you know, own it. Just own it. Anyway, I would like to very much go back to just working on my stuff, working on my private life, working on getting to the point of feeling good again. So I hope that this puts all this stuff to bed. I am definitely not going to be on my social media for a while because like my god. Again guys, stop believing these things. It is unbelievable. Anyway, I will see you guys in a couple weeks, maybe a couple of months, like I said, I’m only taking some time off. That’s it. Just taking time off. There’s no conspiracy to this. Just taking some time off. Alright. I will see you guys soon. Take care of yourself, stop believing any other narrative. Right now, I debunked it. There’s nothing going on. Don’t believe these people. Don’t write, don’t believe it, nothing. I’m fine, I’m going to be fine. Everything is fine. You’ll see me right back with AEW pretty soon. I’m just gonna take some time. That’s it.
He concluded by emphasizing that he doesn't want to be used as part of the tribalism between AEW and WWE. Black noted that, to him, it's business, plain and simple. He then thanked his fans for their support and stated that anything that doesn't come directly from him is false.
Guys, last thing before I leave, don’t make me some instrument for this while tribalism, us versus them thing because I don’t do that stuff. I don’t do the whole Team AEW versus Team WWE. I don’t play that. To me, this is a business. This is genuinely like a business in the sense that it’s a business, it’s my job, it’s what I do for a living. This is how I’ve made my living for the past 22; 13 years of my life. I’ve been in this business since the 2000s. So thank you for those who have been supportive of me, thank you for your nice messages. Thank you for the people who clearly obviously did my statement and understood from the get-go that that means that I wasn’t released. So again thank you for the support. Thank you very much. Not true if it didn’t come from me. Even that’s said in the statement. If it doesn’t come out of my mouth, it’s not true. Now you’ve known me to be a pretty calm guy for the most part, but this shit is annoying as hell. So again take care of yourself, and we’ll see each other soon. Thank you very much," Black said.
The stream, which is broken into multiple clips, can be seen below:
People need to stop listening to the dirt sheets. Sucks that Malakai Black had to go on IG live to clear stuff up when he's just trying to take time for himself. Listen to Malakai pic.twitter.com/iQZQNxdC1A
— Jesus (@CoupDeJeebusz) September 27, 2022
Sean Ross Sapp reported on the September 26 post-RAW podcast and Fightful Select that Black will be back in a few months. AEW president Tony Khan himself previously said that Black's contract was a five-year deal. In the past, Black himself stated that he asked for his release, and Fightful Select reported that it was denied. Per Rsoss Sapp, AEW felt like the situation has been smoothed over before AEW All Out.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
