Aleister Black is now All Elite, and while him signing with the AEW isn’t a surprise, the fact he was able to do so as soon as he did was. Having been released by WWE on June 2, 2021, it was thought the earliest he could sign with someone else would be Monday, August 31, 2021. However, that clearly wasn’t the case.
Now PWInsider has reported that due to an error by WWE, his contract wasn’t updated to include a 90-day non-compete clause, which is standard in main roster contracts. Instead, his contract still had the 30-day non-compete clause used for NXT and wrestlers at the Performance Center.
The former SmackDown wrestler would make his AEW debut 35 days on from his WWE release on the July 7th episode of Dynamite, taking out both Arn Anderson and Cody Rhodes with Black Mass. It’s now anticipated Black, who is now going by the name Malakai Black will be feuding with Cody. With AEW’s next pay-per-view All Out scheduled to take place on September 5, 2021, it’s likely the pair will be involved in a featured match-up in Chicago.
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