Is An Aleister Black-AEW Reunion in the Works Following WWE Release?

Aleister Black may have a future with All Elite Wrestling after all. The key word is may.

The man formerly known as Malakai Black, the ring name he used during his AEW days, was part of the most recent WWE talent releases, along with his wife, Zelina Vega.

He was one of the more surprising roster cuts, given that he had just re-signed with WWE the year before, and the prospects of him returning to AEW did not seem great, as many in the company were reportedly sour on the idea.

But Mike Reichlin of SEScoops now says that the two sides are indeed talking to one another.

"Aleister Black, known outside the ring Tom Budgen, is in active negotiations with All Elite Wrestling," Reichlin wrote in his report. "The development directly contradicts a wave of reporting over the past two weeks that suggested AEW had no interest in welcoming the former House of Black leader back to the company."

Reichlin went on to say that no terms on a reunion between Black and AEW have been finalized and a deal is not in place at this time. However, AEW sources have denied to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select that any conversations have taken place, but that the door is open for them to happen down the line.

It's important to note that no report ever surfaced about the feelings AEW President Tony Khan had about potentially re-signing Black, who departed the company in February 2025 and promptly signed with WWE as a free agent.

What was really said about Aleister Black and an AEW reunion

Most of the negative press surrounding Aleister Black following his most recent WWE release came from other sources within AEW. The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer said himself that he hadn't spoken to Khan at the time of his initial report.

Meltzer did follow up on the prospects of Black re-signing with AEW in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

“Black is an interesting case because he was a star in AEW, and was booked far better than in WWE," Meltzer wrote. "But he wanted to leave and there were people who were not happy with him as he didn’t lose often, and once Paul Levesque was in power after Vince McMahon was gone, he tried to get out of his deal at the time."

BLACK. MASS.

Aleister Black always seems to be one step ahead of Damian Priest... 😲 pic.twitter.com/1KducFZofE
— WWE (@WWE) September 27, 2025

The word out of the AEW locker room is that morale is the best that it has been in years, and the addition of someone who previously did not want to be there, may upset things.

At the end of the day, if Tony Khan believes signing a talent to the roster is what's best for the company, he's going to do it. It's on the locker room to keep things copacetic from there on out.

SEScoops did not mention whether AEW would be interested in bringing on Zelina Vega as well. They both are subject to a 90-day wait period following their release from WWE. We'll keep you updated on this situation just as soon as more information becomes available.

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