It seems the saga of Andrade El Ídolo is almost over. Or we should say, the saga of Andrade El Ídolo’s second WWE run is almost over. Our latest Rumor Roundup passed along Fightful’s report that RUSH’s
lawyer negotiated a deal with WWE, and the company agreed not to enforce the one-year non-compete clause in the contract Andrade was released from back in September.
That explains why Andrade started a World title angle for House of Glory last Friday night, and why he’s booked for a return to that independent promotion in a couple months. No word yet on opponent or opponents, but we expect current HoG World champ Charles Mason to be involved in whatever he does at Feb. 20’s No Turning Back; El Ídolo attacked Mason in his first HoG appearance last week.
We also learned yesterday (Dec. 22) that Andrade is working Jan. 4’s Wrestle Kingdom 20, his first match for New Japan Pro-Wrestling in years. Does that appearance, and Andrade’s use of his old CMLL name when announcing it, mean we’ll see him in NJPW and CMLL partner AEW again soon?
The second-generation Mexican star returned to AEW for one night in October, shortly after WWE fired him. He joining Don Callis’ Family before disappearing again due to his non-compete. AEW president and head booker Tony Khan has played coy when asked about Andrade since his one-off appearance. But asked about it again on a media call yesterday (Dec. 22) in light of his New Japan booking, Khan reiterated his respect for Andrade before saying that fans should “stay tuned to AEW” for what’s next.
AEW’s Worlds End PPV is Saturday, and should feature the Callis Family prominently. Stay tuned indeed…
