WWE Hall Of Famer Doesn’t Think Andrade Is Worth Hassle
A WWE Hall of Famer has weighed in on the situation around Andrade.
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.
But despite his apparent return to being All Elite, the star hasn’t appeared for the promotion since.
To further complicate matters, it was then 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.
The most recent report on the situation suggested that Andrade could even return to WWE television instead of being allowed to return to AEW.
Is Andrade Worth The Trouble?
On the latest episode of his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff gave his thoughts on the controversy around Andrade and questioned whether the former NXT Champion is worth it.
The WWE Hall of Famer began by reflecting on his own dealings with confusion around wrestling contracts. He noted that a legal challenge against the non-compete would likely win, but things aren’t quite that simple.
“I’ve been on the other, I’ve been on both sides of it… Every jurisdiction is different… For example, good luck enforcing a non-competing California. Good luck, Florida. Good luck, Alabama. Try to force that sh*t…
It really comes down to, do you have the money and the time to challenge it? If you do, you’ll probably win. You’ll burn a bridge in the process, and you’ll probably blow 150 to 250 grand in the process… Most people aren’t willing to fight it. They’ll just ride it out, but it’ll get challenged eventually.”
Bischoff went on to question how AEW allowed Andrade to appear on television when his contractual situation hadn’t been resolved. He said that while the talent can be excused for not understanding all of the legal complexities of their contract, it’s something AEW should have been on top of.
“How did he end up on TV, if he was under contract and had a non-compete from the AEW side? How does that even happen?
I mean, I can understand Andrade not necessarily being fluent in contract language, right../?
I can understand how the talent might have gotten confused… You still have the AEW side. I mean, they’ve got a responsibility to vet this, knowing that he was previously under contract, and knowing that previously, WWE was very strict about their noncompetes. That’s the part that makes me go, how the hell did that happen?”
The former WCW boss closed by questioning whether Andrade is worth the half a million dollars in legal fees it might take to get him out of his current predicament.
“I think, in addition to the money…he’s gonna have to sit through depositions and discovery. Tony Khan does not want to sit through discovery or depositions. It’s even if you can afford it, it’s a time suck. I just can’t imagine it would be worth it to him… This is not a guy that you’re going to spend half a million dollars in legal fees fighting for.
You know what? I would be fascinated by that. …it would end up creating a precedent. It would end up changing the way the business operates, potentially or potentially Tony get his ass kicked, to just walk away with an empty basket of an empty fruit basket. …I’ll be watching it closely, because it’ll be very impactful.”
Despite not wrestling, Andrade is still advertised for several independent dates before the end of the year.
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H/t to WrestlingNews.Co