Andrade Is BACK In AEW, Huge Dynamite Return After WWE Release (AEW News)

From WWE to AEW, to WWE, to AEW... Andrade El Idolo is #AllElite

by Andrew Pollard
AEW Dynamite Andrade El Idolo Don Callis
AEW

Having been released by WWE last month, Andrade El Idolo made his shock return to AEW on last night's Dynamite.

There, Kenny Omega cut a heartfelt promo, thanking the fans and saying his patented goodbye for the night, when the lights went off and a masked man appeared behind Omega. That mask was removed to reveal Andrade, who attacked the Best Bout Machine and left him lying. Not just that, but it would soon become apparent that Andrade was also now part of the Don Callis Family.

Per Fightful Select, El Idolo has officially signed with AEW, and he'll be working full-time for the promotion again from here on out. The outlet notes that there was no non-compete in Andrade's WWE release, with this AEW return having been in motion for the past few weeks.

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News of Andrade's WWE release started to trickle out overnight on 13 September, at a time when the former United States Champion still had 18 months remaining on his contract. It was stated that this exit was not a mutual decision, and that this was very much a WWE call, with subsequent reports citing a disciplinary issue as being the driving factor behind this release. Andrade had been back with WWE for less than two years, having re-debuted at the 2024 Royal Rumble, just a month after previously leaving AEW under what was described as "than ideal" terms. The belief is that El Idolo had agreed to sign a new contract with AEW, only to then change his mind and opt to leave All Elite Wrestling, in turn causing issues for certain creative plans.

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Either way, Anrade El Idolo is back in AEW, and not only that, but he's the latest of two names to join the Don Callis Family, with El Clon - Hologram's evil clone - having also joined the Family on last night's Dynamite.

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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.