10 AEW Stars Set For A Big Push Following All Out 2021

6. Malakai Black

Malakai Black's first AEW match was reminiscent of Brodie Lee's TNT Title win in that it saw the newcomer blitz through Cody Rhodes, dispatching the EVP in shockingly quick fashion for a dominant and enhancing win. AEW must now resist the urge to follow the Cody vs. Brodie story's next beat with Black, who, like Lee, sent Rhodes away from television for a few weeks, with a "retirement" storyline covering for his Go-Big Show filming commitments.

Black should beat Rhodes when he comes back.

Like Lee vs. Rhodes II, the bout should be longer, more competitive, and crucially, more brutal. The violent delights of the dog collar match should be recreated with Malakai, whose upward trajectory and unique potential as the darkest character on the roster demands he keeps on winning.

Black will annihilate the doomed Dustin Rhodes on this week's Dynamite, potentially leading to Cody's comeback. He will continue to be a focus of AEW programming regardless of what happens in the inevitable rematch, though he'd look a lot better if he won.