AEW's Malakai Black Impressed By Dante Martin

Following their match on the October 16 edition of Dynamite, Malakai Black nodded to Dante Martin as a sign of respect, giving the young star further credibility despite Martin having suffered the loss. 

Speaking with talkSPORT about the moment, Malakai Black noted Martin is "extremely talented" and the former NXT Champion believes Dante can have the same impact on high flying as Ricochet and Will Ospreay did in the 2010s. 

"I think for a kid in his early 20s, to have the ability that he has, that match for me was a way of saying it's make or break. He's fearless. He's extremely talented. He's a little ahead of himself, but that's where people like me step in to bring him back a little bit more," Black began.

"From a competitive point of view, I feel he has the capacity, if he stays the right course, to have this Will Ospreay effect on high flying wrestling. And that’s incredibly high praise. Whether you love or hate him, Ospreay is a guy who when I saw him I told him - and you can ask him this - 'If you stay the course, you're going to change the high flying part of wrestling.' Same with Ricochet. He falls in that category with Will Ospreay and Ricochet. When I met Will Ospreay, all he wanted to be was Ricochet, which I get because Ricochet is a game-changer. 

"If we talk about those guys, we talk about the Amazing Reds, the Rey Mysterios, the KENTAs and the [Naomichi] Marufujis; the guys who in that more modern day setting changed the landscape of wrestling. Even a guy like Brock Lesnar, who completely changed the entire landscape of wrestling, Roman Reigns is doing it right now just adding to the legacy. I think if Dante stays the course, he can have that effect," he continued. 

"He could do something in wrestling and that nod for me was an acknowledgment that 'you gave me a run for my money that I wasn't expecting, so good on you, kid.'"

Martin has impressed many over the last couple of years and his tag team match with Lio Rush against Matt Sydal and Lee Moriarty on Wednesday's edition of Dynamite received substantial praise.