All Elite Wrestling had several surprises during the October 1 episode of AEW Dynamite. One of the moments featured Andrade coming back after leaving the organization in December of 2023. It was a move that generated a lot of buzz online, and more information has come out in the hours that followed.
Fightful Select immediately confirmed that Andrade is back with AEW full-time, signing a new contract with the promotion less than a month after he left WWE. However, the reason he left the company continued to unfold heading into Thursday.
PWInsider reported on Thursday that WWE fired Andrade, which is important terminology because being fired means he did not have a 90-day non-complete clause. Mike Johnson would report that Andrade was cut “due to numerous WWE Wellness violations within the last year.” Back on September 14, Jon Alba of Sports Illustrated reported that Andrade had “at least one” Wellness Policy violation.
Fans speculated about the timing of that news now that Andrade returned. WWE has been known to release “scoops” to media members meant to present AEW in a less-than light, and the speculation is that this news about Andrade’s wellness status would taint his return to AEW. That would not be the case.
Andrade returned and attacked Kenny Omega. Not only did he attack Omega, but he became one of the two newest members in pro wrestling’s super group, The Don Callis Family. This kicks off what should be at least one spectacular match for Andrade. Omega versus Andrade is a big match that doesn’t need to have a championship for it to capture the attention of AEW’s fans. With AEW set for October 18, this is the perfect night to book for that match.
After that match, however? That’s where the questions start. Andrade in The Don Callis group is a fun start and there are plenty of jokes to make about how big that group is getting. Andrade didn’t have a stellar first run in AEW, part of that was due to the roster growing beyond him and doing that quickly.
Now, with names like Kevin Knight and Speedball Bailey, plus the growing interest in Bandido and Brody King among others, the roster is even deeper than it was the first time he was here. Will Andrade be able to stand out this time, or will he fade into the background once again?
The answer to that question remains to be seen, but at this time, fans are hyped to see him back in All Elite Wrestling. Here’s to hoping that this turns out much better than both his first run in AEW, and his recent tenure in WWE.