Andrade “Doesn’t Feel Bad” About WWE Exit

Andrade has explained his WWE departure.

On October 1, Andrade El Idolo made a shock return to AEW just weeks after it was reported he’d been fired by WWE. According to that report, the former NXT Champion was let go after several breaches of the company’s wellness policy.

However, it was quickly reported that new WWE/TKO contracts come with a one-year non-compete clause if the talent involved is fired. If enforced, this clause could keep Andrade out of the ring until September 2026.

As a result, the star has disappeared from television, and it’s believed he’s unable to wrestle anywhere in the world.

Andrade Clears Up WWE Speculation

Following his departure from WWE, it was claimed that Andrade had essentially ghosted the company and stopped answering its calls. However, in a new interview with Eduardo Bates, the star denied that this was the case.

“The truth is a long story. I don’t feel bad about my WWE exit. I am very grateful for how much, or little, I did in that year and a half. I never missed dates and never stopped answering the cell phone as many gossipy people who broke the news said.

Yes, I was traveling and they called me. What happened was that I had a day trip because I was not scheduled and they called me to me. I returned the call at about one or two hours, but nothing to do with the fact that I didn’t want to answer or that I disappeared.”

He went on to confirm that while he didn’t respond to multiple calls, it was because he wasn’t booked by the company at the time, and he was unable to communicate. But he said that he got in touch as soon as possible.

“It was one, two, three hours that I didn’t answer and it was just the company sending me a message that ‘where are you?’, and things like that. I don’t know who got that story that I didn’t want to answer. I was out of the country, I explained to them that it was because of the time difference, the internet, no signal, many things, but nothing to do with me never answering them or anything like that.”

Speaking elsewhere, Andrade claimed that his non-compete clause could be broken within months, despite it originally being locked in for 12 months. The star said that his legal representatives are working behind the scenes to reach an agreement to allow him to wrestle.