"He was not getting anywhere"- Hall of Famer explains why Andrade returned to AEW after WWE exit (Exclusive)

Andrade El Idolo made his return to AEW earlier this month, on the sixth anniversary episode of Dynamite. Interestingly, the former NXT Champion had left AEW at the end of 2023 to join WWE, and now makes his return to the Tony Khan-led promotion, less than two years later.

The 35-year-old left WWE last month after he was reportedly fired for multiple wellness policy breaches. Hall of Fame journalist Bill Apter recently explained the reason behind Andrade's return to All Elite Wrestling, despite having a not-so-successful first stint with the company between 2021 and 2023.

He was talking on an episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Time Machine, where he stated that his recent WWE tenure didn't do much for him. He explained that it is a new start for him in the company, and he looked the part he was playing. He claimed that Andrade could end up becoming one of the company's top stars.

"He was not getting anywhere in his last WWE tenure there he seemed like an also-ran. Came back to AEW in a surprise in the ring, had the mask, took it off, he had long hair, he looked a lot more vicious. It's a new start for him, and this is good, and I think he can go all the way to the top in this company." Apter said.

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Andrade's appearance at last week's Dynamite created a lot of buzz on social media, as it caught everyone by surprise. To make things more interesting, he ended up attacking one of the company's biggest stars, Kenny Omega, and was then revealed to be the newest member of the Don Callis Family. This pairing with Don Callis is set to be an interesting storyline in the weeks to come.

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About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Faiz Ahmed