Andrade, who returned to the WWE at last year’s Royal Rumble, was cut from the company this past weekend. Sports Illustrated reported that the lucha libre star had at least one wellness policy violation during this stint with the company, but it remains unclear exactly what led to his firing from the organization. There are several different reports surrounding the situation, including The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer explaining that it was a disciplinary release. Other coverage of the story claims that the WWE office had tried to get in contact with Andrade for several weeks, but he refused to speak to them.
All things considered, this doesn’t reflect well on the 35-year-old Mexican star, as he originally left the WWE in March of 2021 after he requested his release from the promotion. He violated the wellness policy in 2020 and was suspended for thirty days so while the TKO corporation doesn’t announce policy violations the way that the WWE did prior to the merger, if there was a more recent failed test, it could be proof of a pattern.
Andrade’s request for his release in early-2021 was understandable, as he showed flashes of brilliance in the WWE, specifically when he was allowed to fully showcase his talent during his run in NXT, but was underutilized on the main roster. His frustration was probably justified, as he seemed to check all the boxes, minus fluent English, that the WWE looks for in a Hispanic star. The bottom line is, Andrade can go bell-to-bell, and it was definitely puzzling that management didn’t seem to truly allow him to make the most of his skills during his first run with the company.
One of the many reasons that competition is key for the health of the industry is that more options allow more opportunity for more talent to get over to their full potential. So, it wasn’t a surprise that Andrade surfaced in All Elite Wrestling just a few months after he left the WWE. Unfortunately, it also wasn’t a surprise that he got lost in the shuffle, was seemingly frustrated with the lack of opportunity that he had again, and his All Elite tenure was undistinguished.
He spent a year and a half under contract, but more than six months of that time was on the sidelines. In late-2022, he got into a physical altercation with Sammy Guevara backstage and was sent home from the Dynamite tapings. After the incident, he decided to get surgery to repair a torn pectoral injury that he suffered a few months earlier. He return to the company almost eight months later during the debut episode of Collision. He worked about a dozen matches in the six months that followed, but finished up his contract with the company after he was defeated by Miro at the Worlds End pay-per-view in 2023.
It goes without saying that the structure or lack thereof within All Elite Wrestling simply wasn’t the place for him. It speaks volumes to the missed opportunities of the company when you take into account that despite how talented he is, Andrade’s stint in the organization is almost completely forgettable.
His return to the WWE was almost a repeat of his original run in the company.
When he was a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble, he got the artificial return pop and at least initially, it looked like management might put some stock into him, as he was paired with the legendary Rey Mysterio for a tag match at Wrestlemania last year. He won the Speed title, which almost pigeonholed him into a secondary position, as it wasn’t a belt that was used on the main roster. Again, it’s puzzling as it why he was more or less just a name on the roster for the majority of the past year and half, but for whatever reason, the office didn’t really give him anything of true substance to do on television.
With the WWE acquisition of AAA earlier this year, it would’ve seemed like an easy decision to feature him on the brand, and perhaps that would’ve allowed him to flourish in ways that he simply couldn’t on the main roster since he didn’t cut promos in English, but it didn’t happen. He formed a short-lived tag team with Rey Fenix, which was something else that seemed like it would’ve been successful, but it wasn’t given much of a chance since he seemed to basically either quit on the company or get fired. His last appearance in the WWE was the tag team ladder match at Summer Slam.
Obviously, this is pure speculation, as Andrade hasn’t spoke on the subject, and nobody knows what his motives are other than him, but it’s completely possible that he’s just too difficult to work with, which might’ve been the reason that the WWE seemed to be hesitant to fully invest him in with more television time and a solid promotional push. The reason this could be the case is, his overall lack of success despite his true talent is that he couldn’t work in AEW without incident and now there are some type of issues in the WWE.
Again, we don’t have all the answers here, but there are two different companies with two completely different philosophies and Andrade couldn’t work within either of them. The bottom line is, Andrade is the common denominator.
What’s next for Andrade?
Truth be told, considering that he was fired from WWE for disciplinary reasons, and had a backstage fight in AEW, his options for major organizations are rather limited. Could Tony Khan offer him another contract? Sure, but the last thing that company needs is to more names added to its already bloated roster, and taking into account that he clearly wasn’t satisfied with his spot in the promotion before, there’s really no reason for him to return to AEW. If he was given a pink slip by the WWE, it’s doubtful that he would be offered a deal with AAA since it’s literally the same company.
That being said, that brings his options to CMLL, where he worked extensively before he arrived in America, and potentially New Japan Pro Wrestling. While the money in Mexico and even Japan isn’t going to be comparable to the big leagues in the United States, he could still make a full-time living working for either of them or both if he wanted to make cameo appearances.
If I had to guess, I’d say that Andrade will resurface in CMLL sooner rather than later, as he will immediately be a main event star there and probably make the best money possible in Mexico, even if it’s not anywhere close to a WWE contract. Undoubtedly, New Japan needs the star power and the depth to their roster, and Andrade would definitely be able to use his cache as a former WWE star to land a solid contract there, but much of that could depend on the revenue that NJPW projects to generate next year, as to what they could realistically offer him. Based on the Japanese’s leagues more recent fiscal report, they profited $1.2 million, which was a decline from $3 the previous year, but had projections of an increase in profit next year.
Considering that New Japan has to work on a slimmer profit margin because so many of the top names left the company, it remains to be seen how much they’d be willing to invest in outside talent, specifically if they can’t sign them to a full-time deal. As mentioned. I’d guess that Andrade will return to CMLL to be a cornerstone of the promotion, albeit as a big fish in a smaller pond. In many ways, this entire situation is similar to the original Mistico’s underwhelming run in the United States, as similar to him, Andrade seemed to have the talent to be a major star in America, but for whatever reason, it ultimately didn’t happen so he will probably settle into a top position in Mexico, even if it’s mostly under the radar in the grand scheme of things.
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Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
