Making A Case: Why Andrade Needs To Return To NXT

Since losing to his former tag team partner Angel Garza at the WWE Draft, Andrade hasn’t appeared on WWE television. Following that match, Andrade and Zelina Vega were assaulted after the match by “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss. Like most people who encounter The Fiend, Andrade and Zelina’s careers drastically changed afterward. Vega was briefly featured as a singles wrestler before getting released from the WWE a couple of months ago.

Andrade has disappeared since the encounter, as the angle was used to write him off of TV. Since 2017, Andrade has had Vega by his side. She helped push him to become a breakout star in NXT as part of his complete change of character. He became cool and charismatic with Vega doing the majority of the microphone work. The two showed great chemistry with each other from the start.

With Vega by his side, Andrade won the NXT Championship from Drew McIntyre at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, holding it for 139 days. The highlight of his reign came in a match against Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia that was given a five-star rating by Dave Meltzer. He went on to make a shocking appearance in the Royal Rumble the very next night.

He received a tremendous ovation from the Philadelphia crowd, which isn’t the easiest thing to achieve. He went on to compete for over 29 minutes before being eliminated by Randy Orton. However, he proved that he could hang with the main roster’s best and got eliminated a huge name in Kofi Kingston.

A few months later, Andrade and Vega were drafted to SmackDown in the 2018 Superstar Shake-up. During his time on SmackDown, Andrade had a hard time breaking out. Despite having stellar matches with the likes of AJ Styles and Rusev, he clearly wasn’t the same star he was in NXT. During this time, his name was shortened from Andrade “Cien” Almas to just Andrade.

The move seemed to draw even more spirit out of him. He was initially drafted to Raw in the 2019 Superstar Shake-up, but he and Vega were back on SmackDown just a few days later.  He continued to give his all, competing in the Money in the Bank match and in the King of the Ring tournament. Later on in the year, Andrade and Vega were once again drafted to the red brand, but this time, the move stuck.

On Raw, Andrade started to finally shine once again.  He quickly defeated Rey Mysterio to win the United States Championship and held the title for 151 days before dropping it to Apollo Crews. He then went on to team with Angel Garza for the rest of his most recent run on Raw. Now, it has been three months since we have seen Andrade.

The third-generation wrestler Andrade could use a return to his roots to get back on his feet. A return to NXT could be exactly what he needs.

Many fans have speculated that Andrade would make the jump to SmackDown when he returns. However, I think that he should return to NXT, where he could quickly become a threat to Finn Balor’s NXT Championship reign. The move would also give Andrade the opportunity to get on his feet without Zelina Vega by his side.

If WWE opts to find another manager for Andrade, I have a great potential selection in mind: Melina. Former five-time champion in WWE, Melina has the managerial experience to fit right in with Andrade. Last year, Melina was rumored to be returning to the company, but nothing ever came from the rumors. However, Melina made an appearance at the recent Raw Legends night.

I’d personally love to see the pairing. However, Andrade could be ready to show that he can be a star all on his own. This is the first time since his early days in NXT that Andrade will be going at it alone if he isn’t partnered with someone. Some people may be skeptical of his future by himself, knowing his early NXT run was almost a complete dud.

However, Andrade has a long history in the wrestling business before Vega and WWE. He has made a name for himself in Mexico’s CMLL and in Japan in New Japan Pro Wrestling working under a mask as La Sombra. He won the IWGP Intercontinental Championship while in Japan and his list of accomplishments in Mexico is outstanding.

There is no doubting that Andrade could be a star if given the opportunity. A potential return to NXT could be that opportunity to prove himself once again. If Karrion Kross doesn’t get to him first and take his title back, Andrade would be a great challenger for Finn Balor. On the NXT stage, Balor and Andrade could get him back to putting on five-star matches.