Another AEW star looks set to make the jump to WWE in the near future.
In late 2021, talent departing AEW looked to be an impossibility. With All Elite Wrestling being the fresher brand and everything that Vince McMahon’s WWE was not, an ex-WWE Superstar would frequently make a shock debut on Dynamite or pay-per-view. However, everything would change in the next few months.
Beginning with Cody Rhodes’ sudden departure from the promotion he founded to return to WWE, the tide slowly started to shift in favour of the biggest wrestling company in the world. With Triple H taking control of the product in autumn 2022, WWE started vastly improving their product while AEW’s roster became more bloated and in the midst of multiple reports of unrest. Beginning in September 2023, multiple names made their way from AEW to WWE as Jade Cargill, Brian Pillman Jr. and CM Punk all departed All Elite Wrestling under various circumstances to join their biggest rival.
In the opposite to 2021, fans are now wondering who could be the next name to depart Tony Khan’s promotion. According to a new report, it could be someone who has experience in WWE; Andrade El Idolo.
As reported by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, El Idolo will be making an appearance for Mexican promotion CMLL. The reason behind this could be that his contract is up soon and he could be considering a move back to WWE:
“Well, he’s going back to CMLL. Not sure exactly what week but probably relatively soon. On Friday night’s arena, Mexico show they did a tease of him going back and you know, he had talked to AAA about going back there and decided to go to CMLL. I think it was just one of those things. I think he just wanted to do it, because that’s where he started. Because there’s no real money even though CMLL has drawn big crowds.
There’s no real money being paid by CMLL. And Andrade actually charges a lot for his appearances in Mexico. So I think something that he wants to do, and his deal is coming up relatively soon. And, you know, so unless it’s extended or something because of time off or injuries or whatever, but he thinks that his deals up pretty soon. And so he wanted to go back in case he ends up going to WWE.
I mean, he’s not made a decision about what he’s doing next. He’s not signed a new deal. But if he does go to WWE he knows he can’t go back to Arena Mexico.
When asked when El Idolo’s contract is up, Meltzer admitted that he couldn’t give an exact date due to injury time being added but the original date is soon:
Not yet, but relatively soon. You don’t know how much time is backed up due to injury.
Andrade El Idolo Previously Hinted At AEW Departure
El Idolo’s time in All Elite Wrestling has not been without drama. Along with a backstage incident with Sammy Guevara back in October 2022, Andrade El Idolo has also previously posted cryptic messages about a potential AEW exit, seemingly expressing his frustrations with his time in the promotion. It was at one point believed that the AEW star was trying to get fires as a result of his actions.
Wrestling as Andrade in WWE, the former United States Champion was with the promotion from 2015 to 2021, wrestling on both the NXT brand and the main roster. El Idolo is also married to SmackDown star Charlotte Flair.
If you use any quotes from this article please credit Wrestling Observer Radio and leave a h/t to Inside The Ropes.