Malakai Black Says Vince McMahon Didn’t ‘Know What to Do’ with Him Before WWE Release

Photo credit: WWE.com

Malakai Black appeared on Talk Is Jericho with fellow AEW star Chris Jericho on Wednesday to discuss several topics, including his departure from WWE.

At one point in the conversation, Black talked about some of the creative issues and frustrations he went through during his time on WWE’s main roster from 2019-21.

Beginning at the 3:50 mark of the video, Black discussed his relationship with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and why he believes he never reached his potential on Raw or SmackDown:

“Since day one, Vince was always very fond of me. I’ve had good conversations always, but I definitely think there was a moment where Vince was like, ‘I don’t know what to do with this guy.’ And every time I tried to say, ‘Well, why don’t we do this,’ [Vince would respond], ‘Yeah, maybe, maybe, maybe.’

“I think Vince was very keen on figuring it out himself, but I think he never did. And I think that is kind of what put the nail in the coffin.”

Black, who wrestled under the name Aleister Black in WWE, was a top star and NXT champion in NXT, but it never translated once he got called up to the main roster, which has been the case for many NXT stars in recent years.

After being kept off television for more than seven months, Black made his return on the May 21 episode of SmackDown on the heels of vignettes airing in prior weeks.

Black attacked Big E during an Intercontinental Championship match and hit him with Black Mass, which seemed to be the start of a feud, but less than two weeks later, Black was shockingly released from the company.

It didn’t take long for the 36-year-old veteran to land on his feet, though, as he debuted with AEW under the Malakai Black name on the July 7 episode of Dynamite, taking out both Arn Anderson and Cody Rhodes with Black Mass.

On Wednesday’s Dynamite, Black will make his in-ring debut for AEW in a match against Rhodes.

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