Buddy Matthews makes an interesting move amid rumors of Malakai Black's AEW exit

Malakai Black has been rumored to leave AEW once his contract expires. In the midst of this, his House of Black teammate, Buddy Matthews, has made an interesting move.

For quite some time now, there have been rumors that Malakai Black was leaving AEW, especially since he hasn't wrestled for the company since November 2024. Recent reports have stated that people backstage at All Elite Wrestling believe he has already left.

Amid these rumors, Brody King filed a trademark for the term "Hounds of Hell" on January 15, 2025. Now, Buddy Matthews has filed a trademark for the name "Hell Hounds." He filed the trademark himself under his real name, Matthew Adams, using an address in Plant City, Florida. Matthews' trademark is listed as follows:

"Advertising services, namely, promoting the goods and services of others; organizing fairs for commercial and advertising purposes; providing a searchable website featuring the goods and services of other vendors. Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer." [H/T F4Wonline]

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Vince Russo says Malakai Black may be uncertain about his future due to how WWE has treated Bo Dallas

When Bo Dallas returned as Uncle Howdy after Bray Wyatt's passing, WWE spent several months teasing the Wyatt Sicks' debut with creepy messages and clues.

Their debut was done almost perfectly. In the following weeks, Bo Dallas and Erick Rowan appeared in vignettes talking about their history with Bray Wyatt. Despite this build-up, the Wyatt Sicks' booking in recent weeks has been questionable, and now, they have been moved to SmackDown from RAW.

Speaking on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws podcast with Dr. Chris Featherstone, Vince Russo said Bo Dallas' recent booking may cause Malakai Black to reconsider whether he should return to WWE.

"Look at poor Bo Dallas. You know he was an integral part of this thing because his brother passed away. You know he pushed for this. You know he thought this thing through and through and through and through. They came out with those early vignettes because they were focused in it at that time. He freaking knocked it out of the park. And where did that go? So why would anybody including Aleister Black himself why would anybody think anything would be different?" [From 07:36 to 08:12]

Malakai Black worked for WWE from 2016 to 2021, during which he won the NXT Championship. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the House of Black's leader in 2025.