Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com has confirmed details regarding an earlier report on Andrade’s absence from AEW, despite making his return to the company on October 1.
Multiple sources have noted that it is standard for new contracts within WWE/TKO to have a clause where wrestlers have a one-year non-compete if fired for cause or breach, with Alvarez adding:
The older contracts had this but it’s standard now. This is the hold-up involving Andrade. Very skeptical this would hold up in a legal battle, but it’s in the contracts.
Andrade showed up on AEW Dynamite less than a month after his WWE release, and has not shown up in the company since.
It was originally believed that the former WWE United States Champion did not have a non-compete, with multiple wellness policy failures reported to factor into the decision to release him.
Andrade’s scheduled dates in Puerto Rico and Atlanta are no longer being advertised as of this writing.