Ricky Starks, Malakai Black and Miro have been released from AEW, after so long Tony Khan has done what needed to be done, especially being that it became clear that he wasn’t going to use them, and three obviously wanted out, but they weren’t being let go. Finally though all of them are gone from AEW, and Ricky Starks has already shown up in NXT, Black will probably be on his way back to WWE, and Miro seems a little uncertain but could see him going back.
With Starks showing up on NXT TV on the 11th of Feb 2025 edition of the show, we saw him show up in the crowd, cut a short promo and off he went. This obviously got everyone excited, everyone was talking about it. I suspect he will stay on NXT for a few months, because if he’s showing up now on the show, he won’t be on the main roster until at the very least, after Wrestlemania, but even then they need to have a plan for him. It was clear he wanted out of AEW and it is good that he was finally freed, because he wasn’t being used and so why keep him on the payroll? Now we get to see his talents put to good use again, only this time in WWE
Malakai Black is a name it’s hard to believe AEW screwed up with. The guy has it all going for him. The look, the entrance, the in-ring ability and a good promo but ever since he ended up losing that match to Cody Rhodes back in late 2021, things haven’t gone his way. Now he was out with a pretty serious injury so it kept him out for quite some time but even when healthy didn’t get used, which made no sense, considering how good he is and the House of Black could have done. Because the House of Black had great presentation, the theme, the look, and they never were used in a meaningful way, even when they won the trios belts. So hopefully we get to see him thrive under Triple H in WWE. Obviously that is no guarantee especially with WWE’s own wave of releases back last week, but at the same time, Triple H was the only one so far between WWE and AEW to book him correctly back in NXT many years ago, so it will be very interesting to see where this goes.
Miro is an interesting case, where he’s been off TV for so long, no idea why, and according to some reports has refused some creative plans, that apparently AEW presented him. While that may or may not be true, what is true, is that once Miro and his TNT title reign was over, which was absolutely fantastic, he faded into obscurity, was barely featured and we’ve gotten to this point now where he probably wants to go back to WWE, or maybe just wants to seek other options.
Either way all these guys are way too talented to not have any success in WWE, or wherever Black and Miro land if not WWE. They will find work and prove that AEW was underutilising their talents, which is a shame, because they started out so well and just fizzled out for one reason or another. Whether it be not getting singles matches, or just not being featured on TV in any prominent way. The future is looking up for all three.