Malakai Black Addresses Non-Compete Clauses, Thinks There ‘Is a Middle Ground’

– Earlier today, newly signed AEW wrestler Malakai Black was answering fan questions on the Twitch channel for his wife, Thea Trinidad (aka WWE Superstar Zelina Vega). At one point, Black was asked about non-compete clauses for contracts and his thoughts on United States President Joe Biden potentially banning or restricting non-compete clauses. Black stated the following (via Fightful):

“There is a middle ground. From a business point of view, I understand having a non-compete. As a person who works on TV, I understand that they want separation between you going from one place to another. I get that. Do I think it needs to be three months? No. That’s the standard contract. Obviously, with me, you guys know what happened. Something definitely needs to change and maybe there needs to be better prior notice. One of the things that I don’t think is completely accurate is ‘hey, today we decided to do that and we’ll follow up on it.’ I think you need a little more notice, but it’s a different process. The WWE is not a normal company. They kind of make the rules themselves. That’s where I think [Joe] Biden is trying to make a change where they have all the pros and you have all the cons. I understand the need for change on multiple levels and I also understand that there needs to be a middle ground and that there needs to be spacing in between. They still pay you when you’re no longer working for them for the duration of your non-compete.”

As previously reported, Malakai Black debuted in AEW much quicker than expected last Wednesday (Jul. 7) following his WWE release, which took place on June 2. This is because due to some type of clerical error with his contract, Black was still under a 30-day non-compete period stemming from his previous NXT contract following his release, instead of the standard WWE contract period after getting released, which is 90 days.

AEW announced that Black was officially signed to the company on Thursday, July 8.