Former WWE and AEW star Andrade made a surprise appearance at the HOG Winter Warfare event a the NYC Arena in Jamaica, Queens on Friday night.
Andrade, under a mask confronted HOG Champion Charles Mason. When Mason went to attack him, Andrade laid him out with a hammerlock DDT. Andrade then held the HOG championship high, indicating he wants a future title shot.
It is most-likely, while not confirmed, that WWE would have granted Andrade permission to appear at the HOG event, as they have been upholding a one-year no-compete clause after they terminated him with cause this past September. Believing he was not under any non-compete, Andrade returned to AEW at the their 6th anniversary show at Daily’s Place back on October 1, attacking Kenny Omega and then aligning with Don Callis. Andrade quietly disappeared from AEW storylines after show.
Andrade claimed during an interview on December 13, that WWE sent his lawyers a letter allowing him to wrestle at the WWC show that same night in Puerto Rico, where he won the vacant WWC Universal Championship.