In a candid interview with Ariel Helwani, MJF singled out Malakai Black as a prime example of wrestlers who viewed AEW as a mere stepping stone to chase WrestleMania glory in WWE. “Do I think he’s a bad guy? No,” MJF stated. “Do I think he was a mark for wanting to have his ‘Oh, I need my Mania moment’? Yeah.” Speaking as a locker-room leader and self-proclaimed team captain, MJF highlighted widespread frustration with opportunistic attitudes. Additionally, he stressed that hard work in AEW eliminates the need to burn bridges, a point some suspect Black did during his run.
“Do I think he’s a bad guy? No. Do I think he was a mark for 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 going to use All Elite Wrestling to go back to WWE,’ I think you’re going to see a lot of those guys asked for a 50 percent 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, there’s really no need to burn bridges.” – MJF
After a successful four-year AEW run leading the House of Black and capturing the World Trios Championship, Black departed in February 2025 and returned to WWE on the April 25, 2025 episode of SmackDown. Despite the initial hype, he received limited momentum and airtime. Still, most were surprised when, on April 24, 2026, WWE released him alongside his wife, Zelina Vega, as part of a major post-WrestleMania purge, seemingly validating MJF’s blunt message.
