AEW's Andrade Reveals New Look For 2022

Andrade El Idolo welcomes in the new year with a new look.

by Andrew Pollard
Andrade El Idolo New Mask
AEW/Instagram @andradealmas

AEW's Andrade El Idolo has revealed he'll be ushering in the new year by debuting a new mask - as seen above.

Andrade took to Instagram to reveal this new look, with his Insta activity suggesting that Rockwell Masks made this piece for the former NXT Champion. Said Insta activity would also indicate that this mask was made from one of Charlotte Flair's Louis Vuitton suitcases. As the 32-year-old put it, "New year! New mask!" - as he asked fans for their feedback.

Since arriving in AEW earlier in the year, Andrade has taken to wearing a mask for his pre-match walk to the ring. The mask used to date has been eerily reminiscent of the nefarious Black Mask, aka Roman Sionis, from the pages of DC Comics.

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Prior to this, El Idolo had occasionally worn his La Sombra mask to the ring for certain choice NXT bouts, with La Sombra being the masked persona taken on by the highly talented star before he was unmasked upon signing with WWE. As La Sombra - which means The Shadow - Andrade achieved major success in CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling, famously becoming the first Mexican to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship after he defeated Shinsuke Nakamura for that prize in May 2013.

Andrade was most recently seen in an AEW ring on the 15 December episode of AEW Dark: Elevation, where he picked up a quick victory over Kaun.

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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, Jamie Hayer, 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.