WWE Hall of Famer Says Aleister Black Hasn't Burned AEW Bridge

Aleister Black was among the latest round of WWE releases, but is the door still open for him to return to AEW?

The last five years of Aleister Black's professional wrestling career have certainly been interesting. He was initially released from WWE back in June 2021. At the time, the company failed to structure his contract from an NXT-to-main roster deal, resulting in a 30-day non-compete instead of the standard 90 days.

This allowed Black to make a shocking AEW debut, attacking Cody Rhodes on Dynamite just over a month after his release.

Black would change his name to Malakai Black during his time in AEW, continuing the same gimmick he had established in WWE. Things seemed to go well for Black in AEW at first, but when Triple H rose to power in WWE in 2022, reports suggested that Black attempted to get out of his AEW deal to return to WWE.

While AEW would reportedly agree to release him from his contract, a non-compete would have prevented him from returning to WWE for the length of his deal. Black would lose a match at All Out 2022 and give a curtain call to the crowd that wasn't aired on pay-per-view. He then disappeared from the company after that night, only to return three months later.

From there, Black's time in AEW was widely dissected online, with reports claiming he was unwilling to take pinfall losses. He would eventually depart AEW in February 2025; it was never truly clarified if his contract expired or the company released him from his deal.

Black would return to WWE months later and had another year run with the company before being released again alongside his wife, Zelina Vega, last week. But after everything that's happened, is the door open for an AEW return?

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross doesn't believe Black has burned a bridge with AEW

On the latest episode of Grilling JR, the AEW commentator spoke about Aleister Black's recent WWE release and stated he believes Black is a main-event talent, but he needs to be willing to tweak and change certain things, since nothing has worked for him long-term anywhere yet. When Conrad Thompson asked Ross if Black had burned a bridge at AEW, Ross believed he hadn't.

"No, I do not. I think that his chances are running out," Jim Ross said. "Trust is a big thing, man. I said this many times, and you and I laugh about it sometimes. Reliability, are you reliable? And there is, I'm sure, a small faction of some in the wrestling business that believe he's missing something.

"And I say that I don't disagree with that. But he's not missing his attire, his look, his work ethic. So whatever his downfalls are, they seem to be stimulated from things outside bell-to-bell. I like the guy. I'd hire him in a heartbeat."

Aleister Black isn't expected to return to AEW any time soon

While there is no doubt that Aleister Black has a 90-day non-compete with WWE this time around, a lot of talk has been made about him potentially returning to AEW when he's free and clear to do so.

It has been reported that a potential Malakai Black return isn't being well-received by many within AEW. We now have more information on that front.

It was said on the latest episode of WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select that sources within AEW don't expect Black in AEW any time soon. Despite that, Sean Ross Sapp has heard that the bridge between the two sides wasn't considered to be burned.

Stay tuned to The Takedown on SI for more information on Aleister Black's next move as it becomes available.

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