AEW News & Rumor Roundup: Vince McMahon saw the next Undertaker in top star; huge break up; veteran makes big debut after leaving Tony Khan's company

Welcome to the January 20 edition of the AEW News and Rumor Roundup. Here, we'll look at all the major stories and rumors doing the rounds related to the company.

In today's roundup, we'll cover some trending topics including a star Vince McMahon considered the next Undertaker, a veteran and AEW star who made a huge debut in another promotion, the split of a major faction, and more.

#1. Vince McMahon saw the next Undertaker in Malakai Black

Malakai Black used to perform in WWE under the ring name Aleister Black before becoming All Elite. He had a great run in NXT under Triple H's supervision. But when he came to the main roster, his character suffered a major downfall.

Speaking on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws podcast, former WWE star EC3 stated that Malakai's downfall was due to Vince McMahon's failure to understand his character. The Genetic Jackhammer tried to mold Black's persona into Taker's character, which turned out to be a huge flop.

"If I could pop into that real fast, would be like, it worked in NXT with Triple H where they treated it as such. That was the time when things got shot up the cannon up the ladder and then they got into his hand. If he saw a parallel to anybody that was maybe seemingly like one of his legacy guys, perhaps The Undertaker that coming out of things like totally different acts, but to Vince and his insane sociopathic mind, he probably just saw it was just The Undertaker and he didn't get it."

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#2. The Acclaimed split-up

Max Caster and Anthony Bowens have not been on the same page for the past few months. Cracks were visible in their partnership. Finally last week on Collision, they went their separate ways. The Acclaimed were one of the top tag teams in AEW but now they are on their quest to make a name for themselves in the singles division.

Following the huge breakup, Bowens took to X (Twitter) to subtly address splitting up with Caster. He posted a GIF that showed an animated character removing his handcuffs. This might be a potential reference to him breaking off the shackles that kept him tied to his ex-tag team partner.

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#3. Mark Henry makes TNA debut

Mark Henry left AEW in May 2024 after his contract with the company expired. He worked with Tony Khan's company as a backstage coach and trainer. Months after his departure from the Jacksonville-based promotion, he made his debut for TNA at the 2025 Genesis PPV kickoff show.

He was seen alongside Dave LaGreca and ECW legend Tommy Dreamer. He expressed his excitement at being a part of the event.

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#4. AEW might make changes to the 2025 Double or Nothing PPV to avoid a clash with WrestleMania 41

WWE has been aggressive with date bookings lately. The fans have seen many WWE events collide with AEW in the recent past. One of this year's Saturday Night's Main Event shows is scheduled to go head to head with AEW Collision and All In: Texas.

WrestleMania 41 is coming to Vegas this year. Vegas is usually AEW's go-to place for holding its yearly Double or Nothing PPV. All Double or Nothing events except for 2020 and 2021 have been held in Paradise Nevada. Fightful Select reported that Tony Khan might have to look elsewhere to host this year's Double or Nothing since WWE is holding WrestleMania 41 in the area.

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#5. Saraya shows off her new look amid absence

Saraya has been absent from AEW lately. But she is fairly active on her social media. She recently shared a picture of herself on her official X (Twitter) account, showing off her new look. She changed her hairstyle and sported bangs.

The former AEW Women's World Champion has been absent from the company since October last year. Her last match took place on the October 8, 2024, edition of Dynamite, where she participated in the AEW Women's World Title Number One Contendership Four-Way match.