Andrade Posts First Statement Following WWE Suspension

WWE announced on Tuesday that reigning United States Champion Andrade would be suspended for the next 30 days following a WWE Wellness Policy violation. It wasn’t revealed at the time what “El Idolo” tested positive for, and he was written off television on Monday Night Raw the night before when Humberto Carrillo hit him with a Hammerlock DDT on the concrete floor. He didn’t say anything regarding the suspension at the time, but on Wednesday Andrade took to Instagram with a photo from his childhood and (somewhat) addressed his current dilemma.

“Never quit because things got tough, remember where you come from and where you are going,” he wrote.

Prior to his suspension, both Andrade and his fiancee Charlotte Flair had successful outings at the Royal Rumble. He retained his US title once again in a match with Carrillo, while Flair won the Women’s Royal Rumble match to earn a championship bout at WrestleMania 36 in April.

No word yet on if Andrade will be stripped of his championship as a result of the suspension. This marks the third time in the past two months that wrestlers have been hit with a Wellness Policy violation, as both Robert Roode and Primo Colon were given 30 days back in December (though Colon hasn’t been on WWE television in years and contested the suspension).

Andrade, known as La Sombra in his time in CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling, first signed with WWE in 2015. But it wasn’t until he turned heel and aligned himself with Zelina Vega that his run on the Black and Gold brand truly took off. He captured the NXT Championship in late 2017, then made the move to the main roster in April 2018. On Dec. 26 he won his first championship as part of the Raw roster by beating Rey Mysterio at a Madison Square Garden live event.

Elsewhere on Raw this week Drew McIntyre officially announced he’d face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36, Flair refrained from making her WrestleMania announcement and Randy Orton turned heel on his former tag partner Edge by brutalizing him with a steel chair.