AEW's Malakai Black: Why I Laughed When I Heard About WWE Release

Malakai Black has revealed his first reaction, upon hearing about his release from WWE, was to laugh, because he couldn't take the situation seriously.

Black, who debuted in All Elite Wrestling a couple of weeks ago, departed WWE in June amid a series of main roster cuts. The former NXT Champion only had a 30-day non-compete and was able to sign with AEW pretty quickly following his WWE exit.

The 36-year-old's time in WWE, particularly on the main roster, was very stop-start. Black was in the midst of a return to the SmackDown, after a six-week build, and had just re-debuted when he was released. 

Having become frustrated at the situation, Black himself couldn't help but laugh when WWE finally decided to let him go.

Speaking to Metal Injection's Squared Circle Pit, Black said: "As soon as I got released, it was funny because my wife cried and I actually kind of started laughing because I just kind of went like, well, you just built me for like five or six weeks. You made me come back and now you pull me off TV.

"And I don’t know, the whole thing to me just felt like I couldn’t just take it serious anymore. And I was like, at the edge of my like, this is just not worth it. And I felt this huge relief, and I just started laughing."

H/T F4WOnline