Andrade El Idolo may be chilling poolside and dodging drama, but the fight over his WWE exit just got realand legally messy.
While Andrade recently downplayed the fallout from his WWE departure in an interview on El Ring, Dave Meltzers 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.
That version of events directly contradicts Andrades public narrative, where he claims to have requested time off to deal with personal issuesincluding his fathers 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, 2025but things got shady soon after.
Blindsided, Andrade lawyered upthis 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 againthis time with legal teeth.
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 WWEs approach illegal.
Andrade remains optimistic that the non-compete will be reduced to 36 months instead of a full year. According to him, negotiations are ongoing.
But if WWE truly believes its 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.
Will WWE let him go quietly? Or is Andrade stuck on the sidelines while this legal standoff drags on?
Whats your takedoes 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 belowwe want to hear from you.
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