Andrade Claims WWE Non-Compete Ordeal Could Be Over Very Soon
Andrade could be freed from his WWE non-compete long before the year that he is currently held hostage by.
The situation surrounding Andrade can best be described as a total and complete shambles. After a stop/start run in AEW where he failed to live up to his promise, Andrade returned to WWE at the 2024 Royal Rumble, seemingly getting what he wanted for his career.
However, less than two years later, it was all change again. Andrade was seemingly fired by WWE and escorted from a SmackDown taping, with questions surrounding any non-compete clause remaining unanswered. Fans thought they were answered beyond any doubt when Andrade made his shocking re-debut for AEW, where he attacked Keny Omega. And that’s when WWE took action.
It now seems Andrade is subject to a one-year non-compete clause, as he was fired by WWE for cause. A former WWE star thinks Andrade could win his case if he took his former employer to court. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen.
Andrade Could Be Freed From WWE Non-Compete In Mere Months
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer gave the latest update on Andrade’s situation after his latest interview, as the Mexican star suggested the non-compete mess could be dealt with in a few months:
He did an interview in Mexico; some of it, I would be very sceptical of. He said his non-compete is worldwide, and he expects it to be settled in less than three months. I was kinda told when this thing went down that they had the one-year non-compete; they probably weren’t going to enforce it for the full year. They might, I think, they felt it was up to their discretion.
If there was a court fight threatened, [WWE] would probably have to stop because there’s no way they could keep him from wrestling for a year and not pay him and have the thing be worldwide. It would never hold up in court. There’s no indication he’s taking them to court, but he’s saying he’s in talks with WWE.
Meltzer noted that Andrade’s claim was that he didn’t know he was beholden to a non-compete clause:
His claim was that he didn’t know that there was a non-compete clause when he went to AEW. He was under the impression that there wasn’t. And then WWE contacted him and said, ‘Hey, you’re on a non-compete.’
He may have signed a contract [with AEW] for all they know, without the knowledge that he couldn’t sign a contract. He told Tony there was no non-compete, and people in WWE believed there was no non-compete. The way he’s telling the story is that there was no non-compete, and then they told him there was after he appeared on AEW because they were mad he appeared on AEW. That’s not gonna hold up in court either.
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