Wrestling legend lists down possible reason behind AEW star Andrade's failed WWE run (Exclusive)

Former WWE United States Champion Andrade recently made his return to AEW, shocking the entire professional wrestling industry. The 35-year-old only left the Stamford-based promotion last month after he reportedly breached several of the company's wellness policies over the last year.

Wrestling veteran Teddy Long was recently asked about his thoughts on why Andrade's run with WWE didn't pan out as it was expected. El Idolo re-debuted in WWE at the 2024 Royal Rumble, but didn't make a lot of noise in his second run with the promotion.

Speaking on an episode of The Wrestling Time Machine on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, Long said that Andrade's failed WWE run has got to do with the wrestler rather than the company. He speculated that El Idolo might be a difficult individual to do business with.

"It has something to do with the individual himself, now my thing I don't know Andrade, I've seen him work, he does an outstanding job in the ring, okay. I've heard him talk. I think his promos are good, but like I said, there may be something else for the man to keep bouncing back and forth like that, you know. There's something wrong somewhere, and it may be with him. He may be a guy that's kind of hard to do business with, you know what I mean, that we have those guys." Long said.

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Andrade El Idolo created a lot of buzz after making his return to the promotion earlier this month. He attacked Kenny Omega following his match against The Young Bucks and Josh Alexander, establishing himself as a heel on the roster and aligning himself with the ever-growing Don Callis Family. He would be eager to win his first title with the promotion with Don Callis by his side.

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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