Why Malakai Black needs to return to WWE

I could probably count on one hand the amount of AEW stars that I think were actually better suited and better represented on television in WWE, and Malakai Black is one of them.

There have been a few different reports recently regarding the former Aleister Black, indicating that his contract with All Elite Wrestling may well be up at the end of the year and that WWE are extremely interested in bringing him back into the fold.

Personally, I think that the best move that Black could make right now is to head back to WWE, and there are a few different reasons that I think he will be presented as a top-tier star in the company that is now run creatively by Triple H, as well as get the chance to travel with his wife Zelina Vega on the main roster.

Aleister Black was watered down, but it was the ‘right kind’ of watered down

I really like the House of Black and I think that Buddy Matthews, Brody King and Black all look great together. The presentation of the group, at least to me, maybe kilter ever-so-slightly too much into the paranormal and dark, with Black spraying people like Julia Hart in the face to slowly “turn” them to the dark side.

Strangely, this isn’t really the sort of thing that we saw from Black in WWE, especially when he was in NXT under the creative of Triple H and co from 2016 to 2019. What we did see was a performer whose Satanist beliefs were firmly worn on his sleeve (and back, and arms, and legs etc), but his modus operandi was simply to get in the ring and destroy someone. Even though he was touted by some as the ‘Next Undertaker,’ all he needed was to show that he was an elite level striker and mat wrestler in-ring.

THAT is the sort of Malakai Black that I want to see, I WANT to see someone who has that vibe of the demonic, the dark, but whose defining characteristic is that they’re just a killer in the ring. That is what worked for Tommy End on the independent scene before he was signed to WWE, and it is what I personally would like to see again with him leaving the landscape of AEW to go to a company where I think he will stand out more and be presented in a different, watered down maybe yes, but main event level way.

The entrance was…’better’ in WWE for Malakai Black

I am a big hardcore music fan, I LOVE Brody King’s band God’s Hate and continue to listen to them all the time. I also ADORE Colin Young and the bands he is in, like Twitching Tongues, Holy Blade, God’s Hate and the group that made the HOB’s themes: Deadbody.

I’m outlining this because…honestly? I don’t really like the House of Black theme in AEW (don’t get mad). I far preferred the Root of All Evil entrance theme that Aleister Black had in WWE, which itself had hardcore greats Incendiary involved.

That theme just hit like nothing else at the time in the company and I dare say that it is still one of the best that CFO$ have ever created. It also gave you everything you needed to know about Black as a character, “no man is ever truly good, no man is ever truly evil” defining the sort of character you were about to see in the ring.

Rising ‘out of the grave’ on the entrance ramp was also incredibly cool. Vince McMahon did his best to try and ruin that with his incessant use of sound effects like a creaking door, but the original presentation by Triple H in NXT was aura defined.

Vince McMahon didn’t ‘get’ Black, but Triple H and Paul Heyman certainly do

WWE right now is in a completely different state than it was when Black left the company back in 2021. As I’ve mentioned though, Triple H not only ‘got’ him during his time in NXT, but he presented him as one of the top stars on the developmental brand.

Paul Heyman, who himself loves to find prominent positions for the misfits and people that don’t fit the usual mould, loved Black. When Heyman was running creative on the RAW during the pandemic era he had huge plans for Aleister, with Dave Meltzer reporting after Black left the company that Heyman wanted to have Aleister challenge and defeat his longtime client, Brock Lesnar, at WrestleMania 36 to become the WWE Champion. Vince McMahon wanted to have Drew McIntyre take that position instead, which worked out, but it just shows how much support Black already has backstage in WWE.

I don’t think that Malakai’s time in AEW has been terrible in any way at all, I just feel that there’s another level that he could reach if he were to return to WWE. This also isn’t a dig at Tony Khan or AEW in any way, as I said there are only a few names that I can really say have been presented better in WWE than in All Elite Wrestling.

Give Malakai Black a run on the main roster under Triple H’s creative and watch him flourish, it could be one of the best hires that the company has made in years.