Malakai Black finally addresses rumors of his retirement after losing to Adam Cole on AEW Dynamite

Former AEW World Trios Champion Malakai Black has broken his silence after rumors of his retirement spread widely on social media following last night's Dynamite. Black competed in a singles match against Adam Cole on the Wednesday Night Show.

The former NXT Champion suffered a major defeat at the hands of Adam Cole. After the match, Malakai Black hugged it out with Adam Cole and left the arena. Their embrace made many wonder if it was Black's last appearance in All Elite Wrestling. According to some reports, the Dutch wrestler's contract with the promotion might be up in late 2024 or early 2025.

With the rumors of his AEW departure and a potential return to WWE circulating on social media, Malakai Black recently posted a video on his Instagram story in which he revealed that he was neither retiring nor leaving All Elite Wrestling. The Antihero clarified that the heartfelt moment with Adam Cole was only meant as a thank-you for their match on Dynamite.

"Here we are once more, the match down, and again, everybody here is, 'Oh, he's retiring because of his injuries, and this and that!' Well, neither of these things. I'm not injured, nor am I retiring nor am I leaving. I feel this happens every match I have, and I don't understand how many times are you gonna say these things, and then happening [sic], and people are still going to fall for that!" he said.

The former WWE star revealed that he hadn't been injured in three years and hoped to see the rumors stop.

"I haven't been injured in more than three years, and I'm referring to my back injury, of course, and I only posted about that after it was already done, and if you would've read the post, you would've seen that and not read what other people have written about it. I'm fine; I've been fine for the longest time. I would really appreciate it if that all stops, man. If I'm gonna retire, you're gonna hear it from me. Not after Adam [Cole] cuts a promo just as a thank you for the match because that's all it was. So, thank you!" he added.

Check out Malakai Black's IG story here

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Malakai Black was signed to WWE before his AEW debut

Malakai Black was signed to WWE from 2016 to 2021. The veteran held the NXT Title once and had a successful run on the developmental brand. However, his main roster run was underwhelming, which eventually led to his release from the promotion.

In 2021, Black was repackaged, and he returned to start a feud with Big E on an edition of SmackDown. In a shocking turn of events, the 39-year-old was released from the promotion a few days after his return. After the release, Black made his AEW debut in July 2021.

We will have to wait and see what the future holds for Malakai Black in Tony Khan's AEW.