Speculation on Former AEW Star Competing in WWE Royal Rumble

Andrade El Idolo was recently pulled from an indie match.

By Liam Crowley

While the WWE entrance to the forbidden door is typically padlocked shut, those bolts tend to loosen every January. WWE Royal Rumble is the one night per year that all bets are off regarding who could show face inside a sports-entertainment ring. Legends from yesteryear like Diesel, Booker T, The Godfather, Mr. Perfect and dozens more have made shock cameo appearances in the multi-man battle royal while then-NXT prospects such as Pete Dunne, Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano and others have gotten a taste of the main roster within the match. Ever so rarely, WWE will utilize the Royal Rumble to either debut or reintroduce a wrestler to its audience, evident by AJ Styles in 2016 and Edge in 2020.

Speculation on Andrade El Idolo Returning at Royal Rumble

ANDRADE-EL-IDOLO-WWE-ROYAL-RUMBLE-AEW
(Photo: WWE, AEW)

The former La Facción Ingobernable frontman could be making his WWE return at the end of the month.

Andrade El Idolo officially finished up with All Elite Wrestling this past December, competing in his final match at AEW Worlds End. AEW President Tony Khan confirmed the news at the post-show press conference and wished Andrade well in his wrestling future.

Speculation was already high that Andrade is going to be WWE-bound, and those theories received potentially new evidence earlier this week. Andrade was recently pulled from an upcoming Game Changer Wrestling match due to "circumstances out of control." Andrade was scheduled to wrestle Jonathan Gresham at the event. He has since been replaced by Lio Rush.

The timing of Andrade abandoning this GCW commitment could be related to an imminent WWE return. It is not uncommon for WWE to alter returning stars' independent bookings, as evident by changes made to Matt and Jeff Hardy's schedules in and around the time of their comeback at WWE WrestleMania 33.

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Andrade previously worked for WWE from 2015 until 2021. He found success in NXT, winning the NXT Championship just over one year after making his televised debut. He joined the main roster in April 2018 and spent most of his time in and around the midcard. While he captured the WWE United States Championship and had a critically-acclaimed televised feud with Rey Mysterio, Andrade was largely frustrated by his lack of direction, eventually requesting his release from the company in 2021. Fellow WWE superstar and real-life partner Charlotte Flair was reportedly instrumental in ensuring Andrade's release request was granted. Andrade joined AEW that summer but ran into similar problems with his booking there.

Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on Andrade's wrestling future.

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