This Andrade situation is a mess.
During the Oct. 1 edition of Dynamite, the former WWE star made his shocking return to AEW by attacking Kenny Omega and aligning himself with the Don Callis Family. It seemed that Kenny Omega vs. Andrade was confirmed for WrestleDream, but we may not see Andrade compete for over a year.
Various reports have been wondering what’s going on with Andrade. He hasn’t been on AEW television since Homecoming and nobody was revealing what was happening with the former United States Champion.
That all changed in the last 24 hours as it appears that Andrade does have a non-compete clause afterall. Allegedly, WWE sent AEW a cease and desist letter, according to Dave Meltzer.
“That is that is what I’ve been hearing was WWE sent a letter. [AEW] obviously didn’t know. AEW obviously believed that there was no non-compete,” Meltzer said. “There were people who talked to people in WWE who also believed that there was no non-compete, but WWE apparently, that’s the story is that they said that there’s he can’t do [shows] for 90 days.”
But here’s the kicker: allegedly, WWE is not paying Andrade for his reported 90 days. This is extremely rare. What’s even worse is that there are reports that Andrade could actually not wrestle for an ENTIRE YEAR! Bryan Alvarez explained this situation better as apparently, talents who breach their contracts have a one-year non-compete penalty.
“We have it confirmed through multiple sources that the new TKO contracts have a clause where if you are fired, there is a one-year non-compete. The older contracts had this but it’s standard now. This is the hold-up involving Andrade. Very skeptical this would hold up in a legal battle, but it’s in the contracts.”
This entire situation is strange. Andrade reportedly didn’t know about his non-compete clause as well. It’s rumored that he’s prepared to fight this battle in court, especially if WWE is not paying him as long as he’s under the non-compete stipulation. Reports claim that AEW isn’t upset about the situation and Tony Khan even addressed it during a media scrum the best way he could (Transcript courtesy of Fightful).
“Well, I would echo sentiments I had said at AEW Worlds End 2023, when Andrade initially left a few years ago. And I would say that I have a ton of respect for Andre El Idolo. I think he’s an amazing wrestler, and I think that when he left in 2023, it was on a very high note. Just to reiterate everything I said at his departure a few years ago. I still feel that way, and I think Andrade is a great wrestler. And I’m excited to see what’s next for him. I would leave it at that.”
Asked if he was aware of a non-compete for Andrade, Khan replied, “Yeah, I would just echo the sentiments again when Andre had initially left in 2023. I have a ton of respect for him, and I’m saying as much as I can say about it, but I appreciate you asking. I am excited to see what’s next for him. Again, this is somebody that I think is just an incredible wrestler. I really enjoyed working with him in the past, and I’m excited to see what’s next for him.”
We’ll see what happens in the coming months. This sounds like a ready made court case, but if this was in Andrade’s WWE contract then unfortunately, he has to honor it because he did sign it ultimately. Of course, I’m not a lawyer so there could be legal loopholes that I’m not aware of.