Andrade’s Push Caused Resentment Among Supporters of Dragon Lee

Andrade’s second stint with WWE ended in a bad way since he was released due to backstage issues. Following his exit, it seems there are some people in WWE who are bitter that Dragon Lee should have been in the prominent spot that Andrade had.

According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Andrade’s second WWE run, which began at the 2024 Royal Rumble, started strong but soon lost momentum. He had a best-of-seven series with Carmelo Hayes to determine the top contender for the United States Championship and even wrestled at WrestleMania 40, teaming with Rey Mysterio to face Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar.

However, Andrade’s push stalled afterwards. There were some bitter feelings of people who believed Dragon Lee should have been given that spot instead and believed backstage politics played a role in Andrade being chosen.

At the time Andrade was still fairly new in his return, and WWE hadn’t yet given up on him, but his booking made it seem like he was stuck without a clear direction.

“In his second WWE run, which started at the 2024 Royal Rumble, he did a best-of-seven series with Carmelo Hayes over being the top contender to the U.S. title. He worked the 2024 WrestleMania, teaming with Rey Mysterio over Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar, but ultimately seemed like he was spinning his wheels. There were some bitter feelings of people who believed Dragon Lee should have been in that spot and there were political machinations to where he was put in, and this was still when he was somewhat new in his return and they hadn’t given up on him.”

Andrade’s second WWE run started with excitement and great matches, but it soon slowed down because of unclear booking and behind-the-scenes politics. Now the question is whether this will give Dragon Lee a chance to move up the ranks in WWE soon enough.

What do you think about Andrade’s stalled push and WWE’s handling of Dragon Lee? Do you believe Dragon Lee should have received Andrade’s spot from the beginning, or was Andrade still the right choice at the time? Sound off in the comments.