Report: Update on Andrade El Idolo's AEW Contract Status

A new report reveals that Andrade El Idolo's AEW contract could be coming to an end.

By Haley Miller

Andrade El Idolo first signed with AEW after his WWE release in 2021. A new report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter could spell an end to El Idolo's time in the promotion.

Last weekend CMLL posted a teaser video of a wrestler with El Idolo's likeness -- the fancy suit, his watch and his signature rings. This sparked a lot of speculation online as to what El Idolo's status is within AEW but Meltzer confirmed that he is going back to CMLL "relatively soon" though it's unclear at this time for how long. "He's going back to CMLL, not sure exactly what week but probably relatively soon. On Friday night's Arena Mexico show they did a tease of him going back. He had talked to AAA about going back there, and decided to go to CMLL," Meltzer revealed. "I think he just wanted to do it because that's where he started. Because there's no real money, even though CMLL's drawing big crowds, there's no real money being paid by CMLL. And Andrade actually charges a lot for his appearances in Mexico, so I think it's just something that he wants to do."

El Idolo got his professional wrestling start in CMLL in 2008, sticking with the promotion through 2015. In 2016 he signed a contract with WWE and appeared on the NXT brand until 2018 before moving up to the main roster but was featured on mostly WWE live shows with an occasional SmackDown or WWE Raw cameo until his release. After requesting his release in March of 2021 which WWE denied at first, they eventually granted it and El Idolo debuted in AEW that June. Meltzer clarified that El Idolo hasn't made a concrete decision about his future and he hasn't signed a new deal. "He's not made a decision on what he's doing next, he's not signed a new deal. But if he does go to WWE, he knows he can't go back to Arena Mexico. (His AEW deal is up) he believes relatively soon. My impression is that it's up relatively soon."

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At the time of his release from WWE, El Idolo was barely featured on television and despite being part of the WWE draft he was never put on either side. With Triple H allotting more time to the Hispanic/Latino Superstars in WWE including the LWO who have been top merchandise sellers in the past, WWE holding a pay-per-view in Puerto Rico in 2023 with Bad Bunny, Zelina Vega, and Damian Priest headlining, to the return of Carlito, it seems that the new regime is making attempts to right the wrongs of the past, especially with how popular and important the Lucha Libra culture is throughout the world. Another run with WWE could certainly prove to be different than his first, possibly even slotting him into a position as a top star within the company like many fans believe he should be.

El Idolo is currently paired with CJ Perry and is taking part in AEW's Continental Classic tournament in the Blue League. He will face the Blackpool Combat Club's Bryan Danielson on the December 9 episode of AEW Collision.

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