-- The contract situations of Buddy Matthews and Malakai Black have been in and out of the news for the better part of the last year, gaining more traction with a major change in regime at the top of WWE, their current existing deals in AEW and even the fact that both AEW wrestlers have partners wrestling in WWE (Matthews is married to Rhea Ripley; Black is married to Zelina Vega). Fightfulselect.com released a report today, shedding more light into each of their situations.
-- In response to an internet report that noted that Matthews was expected to stay with the company, the fightful story notes that his deal would have been extended a while ago though it's not known if this was a new contract or an option that AEW would have picked up. Either way, he is not going anywhere and appears tied to AEW going well into the future.
-- Black's situation is said to be more confusing as he initially signed with AEW in the summer of 2021 with a lot of conflicting information regarding the length of his deal. When there were rumors that Black wanted out of his deal and was looking to return to WWE, AEW President Tony Khan went on record to state that he had "nearly five years left" on his existing contract and wouldn't be going anywhere. Sources within AEW believe that Black's contract runs through the end of 2024 but that at some point, the company triggered two option years which would seem to align with Khan saying in 2022 that he has nearly five years left. That would imply that Black is under AEW control until at least 2026.
