Andrade "Cien" Almas was one of NXT's biggest stars, but when he arrived on WWE's main roster, he became yet another potential main eventer whom Vince McMahon dropped the ball on. As time passed, Andrade (who lost the rest of his name) slipped down the card and eventually chose to leave the company.
There was a huge amount of excitement when Andrade El Idolo was announced as being "All Elite," but AEW has similarly failed him. For a time, the plan had been to pair him with father-in-law Ric Flair, but that fell by the wayside when the Nature Boy found himself embroiled in the controversy caused by Dark Side of the Ring.
Last October, Andrade allegedly sucker punched Sammy Guevara following a backstage incident at AEW Dynamite, leading to him being sent home where he subsequently had surgery for a torn pectoral muscle. Flair is now in AEW but after making his first - yes, first - AEW PPV appearance this past weekend, the Mexican wrestler has confirmed his departure from the company.
"I want to thank you for this time that I belonged to the company @aew and above all to Tony Khan. I also want to say goodbye to all the talent, security people, cameramen, referees and everyone who works in the company for being part of my time in AEW.
kenny, young bucks, tazz, Shiavone, Aubrey, Jerry, Hobbs, hook, Kingston, Ricky, Orange, thunder, jack Perry, Austin, Colten, Sonjay and many more that I can name, also how to forget all the Mexicans (todo el relajo) I enjoyed sharing the ring with STING, PAC, Darby, Garcia, Jay and many more.
I would have loved to face MOX, Page, Hobbs, Ricky, Dante, Cage, Dustin. Thank you AEW AND Thank you to all the fans for your support always. I wish you the best always!!!."
We're a little shocked to see Andrade thank Tony Khan of all people, but it seems like he didn't want to leave any bad feelings on his way out of the company.
The expectation now is that he'll return to WWE (where his wife, Charlotte Flair, works) and receive a much-needed repackaging under the watchful eye of Triple H. Rumour has it he'll be appearing on television "imminently," so there's a chance we could see him as soon as this Friday's SmackDown.
Why the blue brand? Well, it would make all the sense in the world to insert him into that ongoing storyline with Santos Escobar in some manner. As always, we'll keep you updated when more is revealed!