Malakai Black taking time off to ‘recalibrate’ his life, ‘This is not goodbye’

For the first time since AEW All Out, Malakai Black stepped into a wrestling ring and had a message for the fans: he’s not quite done just yet.

Following the House of Black’s loss to Darby Allin, Sting & Miro at All Out, Black blew kisses to the crowd and waved as if he was done with the promotion. Tony Khan would not answer question about Black’s status afterward.

Black returned to action for the first time since then on Saturday, picking up a win over Kidd Bandit for Pomona, California’s Prestige Pro Wrestling. He then took the mic for two minutes (clip below) and said that he understands there are a lot of questions and that he will answer them in due time. 

But, he asked the fans to give him “a few weeks, a few months to recalibrate myself…I promise you that this is not goodbye, this is ‘We will see each other soon.'”

He said that in 22 years, he hasn’t taken a step back and recalibrated his life either inside or outside of the ring. He’s had blinders on and thought globally and not locally when it comes to his career and that’s what got him to come to the U.S. in the first place.

While neither Black or AEW have clarified what is happening, a report emerged recently that the two sides either worked out a “highly conditional” release or that he is done with AEW for the foreseeable future.