AEW star Andrade made a surprising return to the promotion during last month’s special sixth anniversary episode of Dynamite. The 36-year-old had been released by WWE just weeks earlier, making his appearance on AEW’s premier weekly show a welcome surprise for fans.
However, Andrade failed to make any appearances following his re-debut, and there was no mention of his return in the weeks after the special episode. It was later revealed that Andrade had breached the 90-day non-compete clause from his WWE contract, which led to him being taken off television entirely. Since then, he has not been seen on AEW programming, leaving his future with the promotion uncertain.
Wrestling veteran Vince Russo criticized AEW over its handling of Andrade’s situation on Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Writing with Russo. Russo condemned the non-compete clause enforcement by the Stamford-based promotion, calling their actions unlawful. He stated, “You cannot stop somebody from making a living. And he [David Otunga] said, ‘No way, no how.’ And you know, that’s the problem, Chris. And we’ve talked about this, you know, those guys don’t want to burn any bridges or piss anybody off because they think they’re going to get called back again. B S man, that they’re trying to get away with something that, you know, literally is unlawful. And if you allow them to get away with that, I mean, they’re going to keep doing it to everybody else.”
Following his return, AEW apparently had big plans for Andrade, who performs under the ring name El Idolo. During the anniversary episode, he attacked Kenny Omega and was revealed as the newest member of the Don Callis Family. This set the stage for a potential showdown with “The Cleaner,” but with Andrade’s current absence, those storylines remain unclear.
It will be interesting to see what the AEW creative team devises for Andrade if and when he eventually returns to television.
Article credit: Sportskeeda Wrestling
