WWE Has “No Plans” for Andrade El Idolo Despite Non-Compete Speculation

Andrade El Idolo’s professional status remains tangled in legal red tape—and now, conflicting reports are emerging over whether WWE wants him back or not. His situation escalated after a brief appearance on AEW Dynamite earlier this month, which was quickly pulled after AEW reportedly received a cease-and-desist from WWE. Andrade, released in September for alleged violations of WWE’s Wellness Policy, is now locked into a one-year non-compete clause, effectively barring him from televised wrestling in the United States.

While some in the Mexican wrestling world believe WWE is intentionally using the clause to keep Andrade under control, Fightful Select reports that isn’t the case. The site noted that WWE sources strongly denied the idea that Andrade is in any future plans, even after his AEW appearance stirred interest.

“The story was that they’ve heard from people in the Mexican wrestling world that believe that WWE will utilize this in an effort to keep Andrade and bring him back. Especially after he appeared on AEW,” Fightful wrote. “If they did that at this point, it would just be petty. They had no intent to use him again and had fired him. To be fair, I’ve heard from people in WWE that they don’t have any plans to use him.”

The report casts serious doubt on any speculation that WWE might be playing the long game with Andrade. The company sees no value in reopening that chapter—despite Andrade’s legacy in lucha libre and past success as “La Sombra.”

Meanwhile, Andrade is keeping himself active outside major promotions. He’s booked for Big Time Wrestling on November 1—one of the rare appearances he’s permitted to make while under the current restrictions. For now, he remains in limbo, sidelined from major televised events in the U.S.

Do you think Andrade should return to WWE, fight his way back to AEW, or dominate the indies for good? Drop your take in the comments and let us know what you’d do in his position.