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Booker T recently shared his opinion on AEW star Malakai Black's run in WWE, terming the former NXT Champion's character as a "cartoon."
Malakai Black, formerly known as Aleister Black, was cut from WWE on June 2, 2021, after a five-year tenure with the global juggernaut. Despite finding success down in NXT, Black's run on the main roster left a lot to be desired. As such, Malakai Black's AEW arrival was a moment of celebration for his fans, who were elated to see his career get a new lease on life.
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In the latest episode of his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T shared his thoughts on Malakai Black's middling run in WWE. He explained why he couldn't see the AEW star as a real human being but only as a cartoon character. Booker T further stated that in today's world, someone like Jon Moxley, who engages in trash-talking, has a better chance of getting "over" with fans:
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"For me, I never looked at Aleister in WWE as a regular human being. It seemed like he was this fighter and that’s the only thing that he did was fight. I never got to see any character outside of Aleister Black……everything was dark with Aleister Black, so I never really understood. It was say for instance when Glacier came out. He was a karate guy and that’s what he went to the ring to do. I couldn’t look at Glacier as a real human being. He was like a cartoon character. That’s kind of what I looked at Aleister Black as. Today’s wrestler that gets over is somebody like Jon Moxley that goes out and talks crap and looks like a guy that could be sitting next to you at a bar, but you don’t want to piss him off. It’s one of those type of deals. If Malakai Black can give me some real human being character, I can buy into it," said Booker T. (H/T - 411Mania)
Booker T reveals if Malakai Black could succeed in AEW
Booker T also discussed if Malakai Black could achieve more success in AEW than he did in WWE. The WCW legend stated that while Black could deliver top-tier matches, his success would depend on his ability to balance in-ring work with intriguing character work.
However, in conclusion, Booker T did sound optimistic about Malakai Black finding his footing and having a fruitful career in AEW:
“I don’t know. We’ll see in the long run. I thought the same thing about Aleister Black in WWE. If you ask him to do anything in the ring, he’s gonna be able to do it. But the character building – like myself when I came into WWE, I had a lot of guys working with me on character building. They transformed me to not be just a wrestler but to be an entertainer and performer and still be able to go out in the ring and do that part as well. It’s always a balancing act to pull that off. Could he do it? I think he could if given the opportunity,” said Booker T.
Malakai Black's prospects in AEW look bright since he has been booked in a feud with Cody Rhodes, one of the promotion's most protected stars. Fans could soon see the two go head-to-head, possibly at AEW All Out on September 5.
Do you agree with Booker T's opinion on Malakai Black? Do you think Black could win they would win the AEW Championship sometime down the line? Sound off in the comments section below.
