Malakai Black’s opponent for first post-WWE match announced
Malakai Black will be facing another former WWE wrestler when he makes his return to PROGRESS Wrestling next month.
PROGRESS announced today that Black will face off against [Donovan] Dijak at the promotion’s Friday, September 4 event in Edinburgh, Scotland. This is the first of three dates Black is working on PROGRESS’ Odyssey tour. His opponents for September 5 in Leeds, England and September 6 in Manchester have not been revealed yet.
In their announcement, PROGRESS hyped Black vs. Dijak as having the potential to be one of the best matches that you could ever see in person:
- Malakai Black has his first opponent and it’s a familiar face… Two of the biggest names in professional wrestling worldwide collide in Edinburgh! Dijak the 6 foot 7 behemoth from Massachusetts, USA, takes on the incredible martial artist from Amsterdam, Netherlands – Malakai Black. Expect one of the best matches you’ll ever see in person, as this will be hard hitting, high flying and innovative – PROGRESS Wrestling is coming to Edinburgh with a banger
Black had two separate WWE stints with the most recent ending when he was released in April. He wrestled for PROGRESS in his pre-WWE career, though the company has gone through a couple of ownership changes since then. The UK-based indie promotion is now owned by Black’s former WWE colleagues Nikki Storm (Nikki Cross) and Big Damo (Killian Dain).
Zelina Vega, Black’s wife, has been announced for the September 6 PROGRESS show in Manchester. She is going by the name “Xelina” in her post-WWE career.
Malakai Black reportedly had “preliminary contact” with MLW —
It was reported over the weekend that Black had been in contact with MLW “a number of months ago” after his WWE release, but the talks didn’t end up getting anywhere and have yet to be picked up.
Dijak was one half of the MLW Tag Team Champions (with partners Bishop Dyer and Josh Bishop) before dropping the titles to Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows on the most recent episode of MLW Fusion.
Edinburgh Match Announcement
Malakai Black vs Dijak
First Time Ever Match In Europe
Malakai Black has his first opponent and it’s a familiar face…
Two of the biggest names in professional wrestling worldwide collide in Edinburgh! Dijak the 6 foot 7 behemoth from… pic.twitter.com/ilkS7KQCwf
— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) August 17, 2026
Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated’s wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.
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