10 Wrestlers AEW Failed In 2022

4. Andrade El Idolo

AEW Failed CM Punk
AEW

Few mainstream wrestlers, period, have had as frustrating a 2022 as Andrade El Idolo.

When the one-time NXT Champion departed the Vince McMahon-led WWE in March 2021 - the star having requested his release from the market leader - hope was high that the former La Sombra would have the chance to shine. Such hope was only amped up further once Andrade strolled out on the 4 June '21 episode of AEW Dynamite.

If the second half of 2021 was a confusing one for Andrade - as he went from Vickie Guerrero, to Chavo Guerrero Jr., to Jose the Assistant - 2022 has been an even more baffling one when it comes to how El Idolo has been used on AEW programming.

Early 2022 battles with Sammy Guevara and Darby Allin highlighted what Andrade can bring to the AEW table, and the arrival of Rush and Dralistico was an opportunity to capture some of that Los Ingobernables energy. Unfortunately, the main issue with Andrade this year is the simple fact of how little he's been allowed to wrestle.

Of course, the star was afforded some time off to get married to Charlotte Flair, and he is currently dealing with an injury issue, but still, the fact that Andrade has only had ten televised AEW matches across 2022 is mind-blowing - as is the fact that only four of those bouts were one-on-one affairs.

There have been rumblings that Andrade is desperate to get out of his AEW deal - with a physical altercation with Sammy Guevara being a part of that - and it's easy to see why the ridiculously talented grappler would have frustrations with his AEW lot right now.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.