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#4. Malakai Black - An instant AEW top star
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Malakai Black is now a rising star in AEW, still undefeated. However, his release from WWE was undoubtedly one of the most shocking between April 2020 and July 2021.
After Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman, it could be argued that Black was the most shocking WWE release from 2021. He described joining AEW as a "no brainer" and didn't seem to be worried about getting released by WWE at all.
Interestingly enough, WWE seemed to have had an entirely new character laid out for Black. Apart from just a character change, it involved a big change in theme song as well. He returned to feud with Big E and was released soon after.
Whoever handled Black's contract botched the non-compete clause, and he was free within a month as opposed to the normal three. He jumped ship to AEW and has been thriving since then.
It's easy to see the Dutch star's trajectory to main event status in AEW. If he makes it big in the upstart promotion, Vince McMahon will certainly regret releasing him.
