Earlier today, there was a story from Wrestling Observer Radio about WWE sending AEW a letter telling the promotion that it can’t use Andrade on its TV shows, related to a non-compete clause in his WWE contract.
This was a surprise given reports that Andrade was fired by WWE after violating their Wellness Policy.
Typically, a wrestler who is released early from their contract is paid by WWE during the non-compete period, and is then free to sign elsewhere after that period ends. But this case is different, because Andrade was presumably not being paid by WWE after he was fired and then signed with AEW. Is WWE really trying to get away with not paying Andrade but also preventing him from appearing on AEW programming?
PW Insider followed up with more details later in the day. A source told Insider that WWE doesn’t want to have a situation where a wrestler can intentionally get fired by violating policies and then go to a competitor the very next day. This is why WWE is trying to enforce a non-compete period without pay for Andrade. After Andrade appeared on AEW Dynamite and worked dates in Mexico, he was apparently contacted by WWE to clarify the terms of his release. That’s why he has not appeared on AEW programming since then.
On top of that, F4WOnline’s Bryan Alvarez is now saying the new standard for WWE/TKO contracts is to include a one-year non-compete period if a talent is fired for cause, or otherwise breaches their contract.
“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.”
It certainly sounds to me like some kind of crazy bullshit if WWE really can prevent a wrestler from working elsewhere for a whole year while also not paying that wrestler. It’s a long enough time frame in this case where AEW and Andrade may have to pursue a solution through the legal process. That method can also be a slog plagued by numerous delays, so who knows how long it might take to sort this issue out if WWE is determined to keep Andrade away from AEW for one full year.
Where do you think this story is going next, Cagesiders?
