Andrade Exposes WWE Over Alleged Drug Test Failures and Surprise Non-Compete

Andrade El Idolo may be chilling poolside and dodging drama, but the fight over his WWE exit just got real—and legally messy.

While Andrade recently downplayed the fallout from his WWE departure in an interview on El Ring, Dave Meltzer’s new Wrestling Observer Newsletter paints a wildly different picture. According to Meltzer, WWE sources claim the company fired Andrade after multiple failed drug tests, allowing them to withhold severance and still slap him with a strict 12-month worldwide non-compete clause.

“They claimed multiple drug test failures and he was fired and because he was fired for disciplinary reasons they felt they didn’t have to pay the usual 90 day severance… and still hold him to a non-compete for a year worldwide.”

That version of events directly contradicts Andrade’s public narrative, where he claims to have requested time off to deal with personal issues—including his father’s health, his son, and a difficult divorce from Charlotte Flair. When the break was denied, he said he failed a drug test due to supplements taken in Mexico, not hard drugs, and asked for his release. Andrade says WWE granted that request on September 13, 2025—but things got shady soon after.

“I asked them, ‘Do I have a non-compete clause?’ They said no. Then weeks later, they come back and say, ‘You can’t wrestle for 12 months.’”

Blindsided, Andrade lawyered up—this time with someone new. He admits his previous attorney missed the clause, partially due to shared representation with Charlotte. But the damage was done. Andrade began taking bookings under the assumption he was free to wrestle. Then WWE came knocking again—this time with legal teeth.

“They told me I couldn’t wrestle for 12 months. Without pay or anything?”

Now, Andrade is five months deep without a paycheck and footing the bill for a legal fight he never saw coming. He says a former WWE wrestler-turned-Harvard-educated lawyer even backed him up, calling WWE’s approach illegal.

“There was a wrestler who’s a lawyer, he studied at Harvard, and he said it’s illegal to leave someone out of work for a year without pay.”

Andrade remains optimistic that the non-compete will be reduced to 3–6 months instead of a full year. According to him, negotiations are ongoing.

“My lawyers are already talking to the WWE lawyers. They have reached a good arrangement… I think I have a date and my lawyer too, but it remains for WWE to officially sign it.”

But if WWE truly believes it’s in the right, and is playing legal hardball to make an example of Andrade, then this story is far from over. For now, Andrade is staying patient, praying things resolve soon.

“I trust in life, I trust in God. I believe this will be resolved soon and I’ll be back in the ring.”

Will WWE let him go quietly? Or is Andrade stuck on the sidelines while this legal standoff drags on?

What’s your take—does Andrade have a case here, or is WWE within its rights? Should wrestlers fired for disciplinary reasons still be blocked from working? Drop your thoughts below—we want to hear from you.

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