On Monday, it was revealed that several notable AEW stars will be leaving the company this week, including Malakai Black and Miro. Both are WWE veterans, and wrestling legend Booker T believes the two encountered the same shocking realization outside WWE that he dealt with during his time in TNA.
When AEW became one of the hottest brands in professional wrestling at the start of this decade, there were many talents from WWE happily looking to jump to the upstart company. However, things have changed greatly over the last two years.
As ticket sales and interest have declined due to questionable creative decisions, the movement momentum has gone in the other direction and AEW talent are looking to leave for WWE. Two names rumored to have tried to get out of their contracts early and escape was Miro and Malakai Black. AKA, Rusev, and Aleister Black.
Well, this week they finally received why they have long wanted and are no longer with the company. There has been a lot of speculation about why things did not work out better for the two talented performers.
In a new edition of his Reality of Wrestling podcast, WWE Hall-of-Famer Booker T gave his thoughts on the pair’s departures. Claiming they probably realized how difficult life was outside WWE just like he did when he joined TNA in 2007.
Did Malakai Black and Miro end up appreciating WWE more after tenure in AEW?
“Sometimes the grass is not so greener on the other side,” Booker T began by saying [h/t NoDQ.com]. “Sometimes, guys just aren’t made for that system. The reason I say that is because I remember when I left WWE. And I was off for a while, TNA called, and I went and did some work. When I went, after working for WWE for 15, 18 years, it was a hard adjustment. You’re used to being in that system where everything is done from a professional perspective across the board.
“I’m talking from travel to catering, to in-ring, business purposes, whatever, everything’s done a certain way. When I went to TNA, I was like — I had to do a lot of the work myself. I would go to towns and from an advertising perspective, go to the McDonalds down the street, and no one knew we were there,” he said. “I was like, oh man, come on, what’s going on here?
“In WWE, everything was done for[Malakai Black], right? Everything was set up. All he had to do was just go out there and boom, get it done,” said Booker T. “He didn’t have to write stories, he didn’t have to create factions or anything like that. But then, you go to AEW and it’s like going to some of these independent shows, and the guy that’s running the show, you show up and you say, ‘What do you want from me?’ They go, ‘What do you want?’ That’s what it is when you get to the AEW.”
Recent rumors suggest Black is expected to re-sign with WWE soon. It is unclear where Miro will take his wrestling career next.
Related: AEW Star Saraya Weighs In On Possible WWE Return When Her Contract Ends Later This Year
