Malakai Black (formerly Aleister Black in AEW), was released by the company on June 2, less than two weeks after he returned to television.
While most WWE superstars who are part of the main roster have a 90-day non-compete clause when they are released, Black only had a 30-day non-compete, allowing him to show up on the July 7 episode of AEW Dynamite.
Speaking to Chris Jericho on Talk is Jericho, Black discussed learning of his 30-day non-compete and contacting Tony Khan.
"I got my notice and it read that I had a 30-day out versus a 90-day out, and that gave me a ton of ideas. Those ideas were received very well by a certain Mr. Khan. The rest is history. I made that move because I wanted to make that move and I wanted to make that move for a little bit. I'm glad I did it because, even though it's only been a month, it's been a great month. I feel this was the right step and the right move for me. It makes a lot of sense on a personal level," he said.
When asked about his 30-day non-compete, Black said, "I think they forgot to update it. I remember seeing it, I took a picture and sent it to my agent like, 'Do you see what I'm seeing?' 'Does that mean 30 days?' I contacted someone within the company and they said I was reading it correctly, 'You have 30 days.' Between my agent and other people -- I couldn't be involved, I had to stay away from that -- when the contract was over, I said, 'This is my idea, what do you think?' I think Tony (Khan) appreciated the urgency and the 'act now' and he made a good call."
Black released a mini-movie on the afternoon of July 7 before his AEW debut that night. He stated that he wanted to tie together the movie with his debut, specifically mentioning the flickering lights.
Elsewhere during the podcast, Black discussed Paul Heyman's vision for him that never came to fruition. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
Black made his AEW in-ring debut on Wednesday, taking on Cody Rhodes. You can find the result of that match by clicking here.
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