The debut of Malakai Black on the most recent episode of AEW, their Road Rager special, has been the talk of the wrestling world. After a few fakeout blackouts in the arena, Black would make his debut by kicking wrestling legend Arn Anderson in the head, before getting Cody Rhodes moments later. It was a major shock to most watching, and bodes well for the future of AEW. After the show, Black would get some words of encouragement from one of the lead announcers of AEW, Jim Ross.
Malakai Black Set The Bar High With His Debut
While on BustedOpen, Jim Ross would discuss the debut of Black. He’d admit he was not among the few that knew what was going on, as the debut was kept very secret to even those within the company. Only Cody Rhodes, Arn Anderson, Tony Khan, and a handful of others knew. “We were in a unique building that was kind of old school, had different levels, and different, little cubby-holes. It was funny, Mark Henry, Big Show, and I shared a room for the announcers. I didn’t see this guy all day long, so I was shocked at how it came off.”
After the show had concluded, JR would meet up with Black face to face for the first time. They were glad to finally meet one another, and Ross would recount the encounter on Busted Open as well.
“I said, ‘We’re counting on you. We’re counting on you to play in a big way. Not just come in and be one of the boys, but come in and be one of the stars.’ I think he hadn’t heard that in a while. And I think that meant a lot to him. I wasn’t trying to blow smoke, I was just trying to say, you’re a highly regarded piece of talent that we value and we’re happy you’re here. So, now we’re looking for great things. You set the bar high with your debut, now let’s see where we can take you.”
A Clerical Error From WWE Helped This Debut
The big surprise came from the fact that most fans assumed that Black still had a full 90 days before he could even show up anywhere that isn’t WWE. Main roster talent will generally have a 90 day non-compete clause in their contract, while NXT talent has 30 days. Black was originally signed to NXT, and when he moved to the main roster, WWE failed to update that part of his contract.
We can assume this will be the first and last time that WWE will allow this to happen, and are likely currently checking all NXT call up contracts to ensure that the clause is properly updated. However, it only needed to happen once for this incredible debut, and wrestling is better for this error.
Will Black be the star for AEW they hope he can be? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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