AEW's Malakai Black Recalls Shattering His Testicle Into Seven Pieces During WWE NXT Feud With Tommaso Ciampa

Malakai Black has revealed his three month absence from WWE NXT in 2018 was because he shattered his testicle into seven pieces during a match with Tommaso Ciampa.

Black - then known as Aleister Black - had begun a feud with Ciampa and Johnny Gargano over the NXT Championship, with a Triple Threat Match between the trio confirmed for the next TakeOver.

Black and Ciampa would then work a match together on the road, which resulted in the 36-year-old's horrendous injury. The former NXT Champion - and current All Elite Wrestling performer - did not realise the severity until he got taken to hospital later in the evening.

Speaking with Pro Wrestling 4 Life, Black recalled: "I shattered my right testicle in seven pieces in Las Vegas against Tommaso. Me and Tommaso are in this feud, and this is the reason I wasn't on TV for a few months, we were supposed to do an angle with me, Tommaso, and Johnny for the TakeOver match. It was already announced and a week later, we went on the road, Tommaso had just won the belt from me.

"We had this thing where, I jump on the top rope and he runs and crotches me. He came in with so much force that, as I came down, his head collides with my (groin). Because of that flinch, I couldn't catch myself from falling on the post. I hit the post full speed and it shattered my testicle into seven pieces. I fell in the ring and I told the referee, 'Can you give me a second? I just got hit in the nuts.'

"At this point, I'm just thinking, 'I got hit in the nuts, it sucks, put me in a hold so I can work and recover.' I wrestle the full 22 minutes, my entire comeback, cut a promo after the match, go backstage and just collapse. I fall down, I'm crawling on the floor and am in agony. At this point, my (groin) was swollen and protruding through my trunks.

"I had to grab a towel and Scotty (2 Hotty) was not terribly pleased with my promo. I'm like, 'Scott, I'm very sorry, something happened in the ring, I think I need to go to the hospital.' They bring me to the locker room, I collapse again and everyone laughs because they thought I was joking. Chris Hero looks at me and is like, 'You're not okay, are you?' I explained what happened and we went to the hospital.

"They said, 'We can do two things, we can cut you open and take everything out and put something artificial in there and you'll be good in a week, but your blood vessel is intact. We can repair it, but it's going to take three months. I said, 'I'll take the three months.'"

H/T Fightful