Watch: Malakai Black makes a stunning return to the ring outside AEW after exit speculation

Malakai Black has returned to the ring against a familiar face that is close to him and his wife Zelina Vega. Black's AEW status and potential WWE future has been a major topic of discussion in the world of wrestling lately. Amid rumors and speculations about The House of Black, the 39-year-old has made his big in-ring comeback.

The Anti-Hero is rumored to be out of AEW and on his way back to WWE, but nothing has been confirmed by Tony Khan or the wrestler himself, and he remains on the official roster of the Jacksonville-based promotion. The speculation continued this week when Will Ospreay and Cope issued surprising remarks to Buddy Matthews, Julia Hart, and Brody King on Dynamite and Collision. Just a day after Wednesday night's show, Coastal Championship Wrestling announced Black for his first indie match since July 2023.

The former Aleister Black of WWE headlined Saturday's CCW Havoc & Haze 9 event against Orion, who has appeared on WWE NXT, AEW, and Netflix's OVW series. He is a trainer at The Dark Arts Gym owned by Black and Vega. While The Anti-Hero's last indie bout came in 2023, he previously defeated Orion in Plant City, FL. The gym's first YouTube special, Dark Prospects: Ritual 1, was headlined by Black defeating Orion in a 14-minute match, with Tony Schiavone on commentary.

The Dutch Destroyer defeated The Sultan of The Sky with his Black Mass finisher on Saturday night at Magnanimous Brewing in Tampa, FL. The match was billed as Student vs. Teacher as Orion was trained by the former NXT Champion and his RAW Superstar wife.

You can watch Black pick up the win over Orion in the video below:

[CCW Spoilers] Finish to Malakai Black/Orion byu/Reasonable___Doubt inSquaredCircle

Malakai Black has not wrestled for AEW since Full Gear on November 23, where he and Brody King participated in a Fatal Four Way Match won by World Tag Team Champions Private Party. Black's last All Elite singles bout was a Dynamite loss to Adam Cole on November 6.

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The House of Black moving on without Malakai Black

Malakai Black has led Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and Julia Hart in AEW as The House of Black. It now appears the dark faction is moving on without the 39-year-old as he is rumored to be leaving the company.

Dynamite viewers were surprised earlier this week when Will Ospreay encouraged Buddy Matthews to move out of Black's shadow. The trend continued in last night's Collision as Cope gave a similar message to Hart and King, who were interviewed after King's squash win. After admitting this was a confusing time for the stable, Cope interrupted and suggested Brody should "take the reigns" and run.

Malakai Black has had just one championship reign in All Elite Wrestling. The House of Black became AEW's fourth set of World Trios Champions after dethroning The Elite at Revolution 2023. They were dethroned by The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn 175 days later at All In.