Andrade’s AEW Return Sparks Debate Over Company’s Reliance on Ex-WWE Stars

Andrade is officially All Elite once again, but not everyone is thrilled about it—especially not Dave Meltzer.

After the former WWE Superstar made his surprise return on the October 1 episode of AEW Dynamite and attacked Kenny Omega to align with the Don Callis Family, it was confirmed that Andrade has now signed a full-time deal with All Elite Wrestling. With no non-compete clause after being fired by WWE earlier this summer, Andrade jumped right back into a major storyline.

But on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer didn’t hold back. He questioned AEW’s decision to bring Andrade back at all—calling it another misstep in a pattern of signing ex-WWE talent who bring more baggage than benefit. Meltzer argued that AEW didn’t need Andrade and has too many wrestlers already being underutilized.

“AEW has enough talent. They don’t need— I see everyone like celebrating, ‘Oh my God, this is so great.’ When all this… I—”

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He reminded listeners that Andrade was fired from WWE over disciplinary issues, and had similar problems during his last AEW run.

“He had lots of problems in AEW— also over disciplinary reasons.”

Then came a direct shot at AEW’s hiring trends.

“One of the biggest problems with this company has been the usage of WWE guys that were not pushed in WWE.”

Meltzer listed names like Malakai Black, William Regal, and Miro as cautionary tales, with Andrade now lumped into that group. He said none of them proved to be real long-term success stories—and that most never saw AEW as anything more than a fallback option.

“As people who know Andrade have told me: he’ll always think of Tony Khan as secondary to WWE— no matter what. And that’s—you’re asking for trouble.”

He even questioned Andrade’s charisma, adding:

“He’s not super charismatic… I’d rather push a young guy who’s happy to be there— not someone who didn’t make it somewhere else.”

The only exception Meltzer could name was Swerve Strickland.

“Swerve is the exception. That’s the one exception. But he came in with a completely different attitude. He came to prove something. He didn’t come to go back. The rest of those guys all wanted to go back. Swerve didn’t.”

Closing out his rant, Meltzer didn’t sugarcoat his thoughts on Tony Khan’s decision.

“If Tony’s not going to learn lessons, then he’ll repeat mistakes. I hope I’m wrong. But the track record isn’t good.”

Andrade’s return might be exciting for fans looking for new matchups and drama, but if Meltzer is right, this comeback could end up as just another costly AEW experiment that fizzles out fast.

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