Confusion emerges over Andrade's status following AEW disappearance

After leaving WWE, Andrade El Idolo made a swift return to AEW on Oct. 1. He quickly aligned with the Don Callis family, attacking Kenny Omega to close out an episode of AEW's "Dynamite." 

However, since his return appearance, Andrade hasn't been featured on AEW programming. His absence has led many to question his whereabouts and what could potentially be keeping him from getting his career back on track.

What is Andrade's status?

According to Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer, WWE has served AEW with a letter regarding Andrade's non-compete clause. Interestingly, it was widely assumed that Andrade didn't have a non-compete in his deal, which is why he returned to Tony Khan's company so quickly. Wrestling insider Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful also shared his confusion with the situation.

"The Andrade situation is very weird," Sapp posted on X. "Even people in WWE thought he didn't have a non-compete." 

Andrade's absence is hitting AEW hard. The company needs all hands on deck as it tries to navigate the long-term absences of Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay. Bringing back a fan favorite should have helped fill that void. However, if WWE did in fact have a non-compete in place, Khan's hands are tied, and both sides will need to hold out until it expires, and Andrade is free to return to TV.

Still, the lack of clarity over Andrade's situation isn't going to help things. Fans and the media are bound to speculate. At some point, Khan, or another member of AEW's leadership, would be wise to fill everyone in and create clear expectations of a timeline. 

The whole situation is very peculiar. Khan wouldn't have put Andrade on TV if he had known of a non-compete. Mistakes do happen, though. Whatever the case, Andrade is the type of talent AEW needs to be promoting, and his absence is just another blow for a company that is struggling to find high-level storylines in the absence of its two stars.