AEW Told Announcers to Stop Mentioning Andrade El Idolo After WWE Clause Drama

Andrade El Idolo’s return to AEW was short-lived—and now it seems the company has been instructed to act like it never happened.

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW has pulled all references to Andrade from television and reportedly told its announcers not to mention him at all following the legal chaos surrounding his WWE exit.

After Andrade returned on the October 1 episode and attacked Kenny Omega, it looked like AEW was setting up a major angle. But since then, that storyline has vanished without explanation.

“So AEW has dropped all mentioning of him on television and never followed up with his angle with Omega. After the angle shot on 10/1, the angle has never been acknowledged since by AEW. We were told the announcers were instructed not to mention his name or bring up the angle.”

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Plans appeared to shift toward a new direction, with Omega and Kota Ibushi potentially facing Josh Alexander and Mark Davis, but that idea reportedly fell apart due to Ibushi’s injury.

This quiet scrubbing of Andrade from AEW TV comes while he’s still locked in a legal stalemate with WWE. PWInsider previously reported that Andrade could be barred from wrestling for up to one year, stemming from what’s believed to be a contract breach. That clause could potentially be lifted if challenged in court—and sources say Andrade already has “a very good lawyer” ready.

As for Andrade’s bookings, his October 25 main event against LA Park in Atlanta has been canceled. However, he’s still being advertised for the October 18 WWC show in Puerto Rico, where he was scheduled to challenge for the Universal Title.

Meanwhile, the legal landscape around non-compete clauses is also shifting. Dave Meltzer noted that the FTC abandoned its previous ban on non-competes just six weeks ago under President Trump. Under the old rules, WWE would’ve been in violation by enforcing a non-compete without paying Andrade.

“What happened here—having a non-compete and not paying the person during that term—that in fact was outlawed until the FTC abandoned the ban.”

For now, AEW is treating Andrade’s angle like it never existed, and fans are left wondering whether he’ll make it back—or if WWE’s contract clause just erased him from AEW history.