MJF Calls Aleister Black A 'Mark' Who Used AEW As A Stepping Stone Back To WWE

MJF wasn't positive about former AEW talent Aleister Black in his remarks on the Ariel Helwani Show, with the two-time AEW World Champion naming the former Malakai Black as the biggest offender when it came to a wrestler who came to All Elite Wrestling to use the promotion as a stepping stone to get back to WWE.

"I think it’s pretty obvious that that’s Malakai Black. I don’t know the guy on a personal level. Do I think he’s a bad guy? No. Do I think he was a mark for like wanting to have his whole, 'I need my Mania moment'? Yeah, and there was a couple of guys like that and they got weeded out. And then they went over there and some of them found out the grass isn’t greener. And perhaps some of them did, for them the grass was greener, but I’d say the majority of the guys that were like, ‘I’m just gonna use All Elite Wrestling to go to WWE or to go back to WWE,’ I think you’re gonna see a lot of those guys ask for a 50 per cent pay cut from the office, or you’re going to see a lot of those guys just get released. It’s unfortunate because if you show up to our company and you work hard there’s really no need to burn bridges," MJF said.

"Like I said, I’m not sh*tting on him. I’m just simply telling you what I was told by the majority of the locker room about this specific individual. As a team captain, as a leader even though, yes, I am 30, as somebody who has been a part of this promotion since day one, I don’t want to deal with guys who don’t want to be team players. F*ck off. Go elsewhere. Or f*cking prove me wrong. I would love to be proved wrong. It would be great. Prove me wrong."

Aleister Black was previously a part of All Elite Wrestling from July 2021 until his contract expired in February 2025. Black was the subject of criticism from his AEW colleagues during his time with the company over a perception that he was reluctant to "doing business," which included doing jobs for other talents and frequent claims of being injured.

Black re-signed with WWE after his AEW departure and re-debuted on the SmackDown after WrestleMania 41. Just one year later, however, Black was released by WWE and he will be a free agent in late July.

It was claimed following Black's WWE release that he was in "active negotiations" with All Elite Wrestling, but AEW quickly denied they were in talks with the former House of Black member. Reports have noted that people in AEW were "pretty negative" about the prospect of Black returning to the promotion, but that didn't mean a return will never happen, though, as the bridge with Black was not considered burned within AEW.

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