Andrade Teases The Return Of La Sombra

Could the recently released Andrade be reverting to his La Sombra gimmick?

by Andrew Pollard
Andrade WWE
WWE

After being formally granted his WWE release on Sunday, news has since come out that Andrade is free to begin working for another promotion immediately – with him lacking the regular 90-day non-compete clause that WWE usually has in place for departing talents.

Many are speculating on where the highly talented former NXT Champion could end up, and also just what name or mantle he may take on. For those hoping for a return to the La Sombra gimmick that served the 31-year-old so well, Andrade has posted quite the intriguing tease on his Twitter.

La Sombra is the masked moniker that the real-life Manuel Oropeza utilised in CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling before signing with WWE in 2015.

That time as La Sombra was a fruitful one, with El Idolo defeating Shinsuke Nakamura to become the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, in addition to countless titles won in CMLLL.

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Whether the one-time WWE United States Champion reverts to his La Sombra name remains to be seen, but it's also worth noting that he will be still be able to use the Andrade name if he so chooses. The only caveat there, is that he would not be able to use the 'Cien Almas' part that accompanied Andrade when he first arrived in NXT.

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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.