WWE Seems Serious About Making Andrade An Important Player

There have been rumors about Andrade, whose name was recently shortened, being unhappy with WWE. Though he’s still seemingly a way’s off from winning his first main roster title, he is slowly being built up during WrestleMania season.

Two weeks ago on SmackDown Live, Andrade pinned WWE legend Rey Mysterio in tag team action, leading to a singles match one week later that blew the WWE Universe’s collective minds. We saw a caliber of wrestling that we rarely see on television, as the match was filled with innovative moves, rapid-fire hurricanranas, and a story built around hunger, determination and the Canadian Destroyer.

Maybe most importantly to WWE fans, Andrade, who took several losses in the fall of 2018, came out on top, avenging a previous loss to Mysterio. Their match was so good, in fact, that WWE booked a main event encore this week – a two out of three falls match between two of the best in-ring competitors on this planet.

This time, however, Andrade didn’t defeat Mysterio. He pinned him off of an insane powerbomb off the top rope that will forever live in history, but the match finished at one fall apiece, thanks to heat-inducing interference from potential Royal Rumble sleeper Samoa Joe.

Considering Andrade defeated Rey in back-to-back weeks, was it really realistic to expect the up-and-coming main roster superstar to beat the future Hall of Famer in three straight weeks? I don’t think so. But the fact that Andrade didn’t lose to Mysterio, who recently beat Randy Orton in a Chairs match at TLC, is of importance.

More from Daily DDT

• It’s time for Adam Cole and MJF to drop the ROH tag team titles
• Tom Lawlor talks MLW return, AEW opportunity, CM Punk’s WWE return and more
• Eddie Kingston stands to gain the most from the AEW Continental Classic
• Trish Stratus on WWE NXT would help elevate that women’s division
• Randy Orton signs with SmackDown to go after The Bloodline

WWE trusted Andrade to wrestle an insane match that main evented a loaded go-home show for SmackDown Live, lasted well over 20 minutes, and featured some potentially dangerous spots. They also went out of their way to protect Andrade from a loss to Mysterio, even though there would be no shame in El Idolo falling to a multiple-time world champion in a two-out-of-three falls match.

This result leaves a bigger blow-off match up in the air, perhaps even one at the “Show of Shows”. Given how brilliant Andrade and Rey have been in the ring together over the past couple of weeks, a match between them wouldn’t be out of place on the WrestleMania 35 card, and the only worry is that they might not get enough time to build on their previous encounters due to how stacked ‘Mania cards are. But with how electric these two men are in the ring, a shorter match than what they produced on SmackDown Live wouldn’t exactly leave the audience dissatisfied.

What’s crazy about Andrade and Rey is that no matter how good their matches have been to this point, we know that they can somehow find a way to make their next encounter even better. The expectation that Andrade and Rey can pull off classic matches seemingly on command is huge, and WWE has confidence that the disqualification finish only makes the WWE Universe that much more excited for one more match between these two elite wrestlers.

It’s notable that Andrade took Mysterio to a 1-1 tie without the help of Zelina Vega, whose interference has generally been instrumental in his victories, including his win against Mysterio a couple of weeks ago. Vega’s importance to Andrade will never diminish, but don’t neglect the story-telling here: Andrade showed he can match Rey blow-for-blow in an athletic showcase without needing any outside help.

That tweet above speaks volumes about what Andrade could mean to WWE in the coming years, with Vega and Andrade touting 2019 as his year to truly break out. WWE has promised a product that caters more to what the fans want, and Andrade will be a key part of that, especially with how well he’s performed in the ring throughout his career. And lately, he’s stepped up his game to match Mysterio, who is the perfect opponent to build him into a true superstar on SmackDown Live.

Rumors about Andrade’s discontent with WWE surfaced in December following a string of losses suffered by the former NXT Champion, but it seems like the promotion is serious about building him into an important star on the “Blue Brand”. Andrade’s rise is significant culturally, and there’s a “passing of the torch” story between Rey and Andrade, particularly with how often El Idolo brings up the fact that Mysterio was his idol.

Patience is always key when discussing NXT call-ups, and after so many frustrating losses, it was easy to give up faith in WWE’s booking of Andrade – and those feelings from the fans were certainly understandable.

It isn’t easy to trust WWE either, but based on the past couple of weeks of incredible in-ring action and the story being told here that centers on Andrade, keep an eye on how he’s booked this WrestleMania season. Because it sure looks like 2019 could be El Idolo’s year.

I’m willing to call Andrade the favorite to win the briefcase at Money in the Bank, and I wouldn’t put it past Andrade and Zelina to hold gold together at some point in their careers.