MJF Says Former AEW Star Used the Company to Return to WWE

MJF believes the AEW locker room is the best it's ever been after weeding out multiple talents who didn't want to be there.

All Elite Wrestling has been having another resurgence in popularity in 2026 as the roster continues to get healthier and the main event scene has become deeper than it's ever been. This weekend's Double or Nothing pay-per-view in New York, which is headlined by MJF and Darby Allin for the AEW World Championship, is completely sold out days before the event.

While there are many reasons why AEW is having a great 2026, it all begins in the locker room, where you no longer have people employed who don't wish to be there. While it would be easy to guess some of these names, Friedman singled one former talent out by name in a recent interview.

MJF says Malakai Black used AEW as a stepping stone to return to WWE

All Elite Wrestling's MJF was a recent guest on The Ariel Helwani Show. When asked about the current state of the locker room, Friedman declared it's night and day compared to how it used to be and attributed that to no longer having people there who are trying to use AEW as a stepping stone to WWE.

"I attribute that to there's no longer people in the locker room that look at my company as a stepping stone," MJF said. "They look at it as a legitimate company. And we had a lot of guys... I shouldn't say a lot of guys, but we had some guys that came in and they were like, I'm gonna show up and be top guy, and go back to Vince.

"Really, motherf---er? You're gonna leapfrog me? Good luck, p---y. Not having it on my watch, and it didn't, because no one's nearly as good as me. No one's nearly as good as Hangman or Swerve or Kenny or Ospreay and Samoa Joe. The list goes on and on.

"So we no longer have that in the locker room, and it's a breath of fresh air, man. I don't have to look anyone in the eye at work and think to myself, this guy doesn't want to be here. Everyone in my locker room wants to be there."

When asked who the biggest offender was that had this type of attitude in the locker room, Friedman pointed the finger directly at Malakai Black.

"I think it's pretty obvious that that's Malakai Black," MJF said. "But I don't know the guy, like on a personal level. Do I think he's a bad guy? No. Do I think he was a mark for, like, wanting to have his, oh, I need my Mania moment? Yeah. And there were a couple of guys like that, and they got weeded out, and then they went over there, and some of them found out the grass isn't greener.

"And perhaps some of them did, for them, the grass was greener, but I'd say a majority of the guys that were like, I'm just gonna use All Elite Wrestling to go to WWE, or to go back to WWE. I think you're going to see a lot of those guys ask for a 50% pay cut from the office, or you're going to see a lot of those guys just get released, and it's unfortunate, because if you show up to our company and you work hard, it's really no need to burn bridges.

"Like I said, I'm not shitting on him. I'm just simply telling you what I was told by a majority of the locker room about this specific individual. So, as a team captain, as a leader, even though, yes, I am 30, and as somebody who's been a part of this promotion since day one, I don't want to deal with guys that don't want to be team players. F--- off, go elsewhere, or f---ing prove me wrong. I would love to be proved wrong. Be great, prove me wrong."

The former Malakai Black was recently released by WWE

Aleister Black returned to WWE last April after his run in AEW as Malakai. One year later, Black was among the list of almost 30 talents released by the company following WrestleMania 42.

It was initially reported that Black and AEW were in early talks about a potential return to the company. However, this claim was quickly shut down by management within the company. While Jim Ross believes Black didn't burn a bridge during his time there, it appears that quite a few talents in the locker room wouldn't be thrilled about him returning later this year.

It's unknown what the future holds for Aleister Black and his wife Zelina Vega outside of WWE, but as of this moment, a return to AEW for the former leader of the House of Black doesn't seem very likely.

Add us as a preferred source on Google