10 Bold Predictions For What AEW Will Look Like This Time Next Year

4. Andrade Leaves

Snap CM Punk
AEW

Andrade is effectively just a guy in AEW.

What happened is that, ahead of the summer of 2021, he signed up alongside Malakai Black at the same time Tony Khan was finalising negotiations to bring in CM Punk and Bryan Danielson. He never stood a chance of being a main event player and instead settled into the over-familiar role of "faction boss attempts to recruit new members". This, after disastrous and random alliances with Vickie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero.

The temptation, to feed the content cow, is to claim that every performer who once starred for the old Triple H NXT will suddenly hand in their notice and melt into the embrace of 'Papa H'. Tony Khan even laughed this off by reminding such fans that he has those talents tied down to multi-year contracts.

Still, Andrade just exists, scheming and doing ***3/4 matches with no week-to-week intrigue. Immensely talented, AEW is no better or worse without him, really. His wife is still with WWE, he holds aspirations of being a major star, and he currently shares a screen with a known heat magnet and sh*t disturber.

He's far closer to bowing out than winning the World title.

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Contributor
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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!