By Alistair McGeorge
Copyright metro
Dynamite saw a major star make a shock comeback (Picture: AEW)
All Elite Wrestling fans were gobsmacked during Dynamite this week as a former star returned to the company weeks after getting cut by WWE.
On Wednesday night’s episode, the lights went down as a masked figure appeared in the ring with Kenny Omega, only to take off the covering to reveal it was Andrade El Idolo.
Just over three weeks ago, it was reported the 35-year-old wrestler had been fired by WWE, which in turn came only 19 months after he returned to WWE following his AEW exit.
When an official AEW account on X wondered what he was doing there after he laid out Omega, Andrade simply replied: ‘Business!!’
The former WWE United States Champion is now the newest member of the Don Callis family, and it’s clear whatever issues led to his departure from Tony Khan’s promotion in 2023 have been resolved.
Although Khan remained positive about Andrade when he left at the end of 2023, it’s been reported the company had expected to resign him, and they were surprised he was leaving to rejoin WWE, which became official at the 2024 Royal Rumble.
As reported by Fightful Select, when he was fired by WWE over summer, he ‘did not have a non compete’, meaning he was free to sign anywhere as soon as he wanted.
‘The wheels have been in motion for this for at least a couple of weeks,’ the outlet added, noting he’s ‘full-time with AEW moving forward’.
Fans couldn’t believe what they were seeing, with lots of people pointing out Andrade has made history as the first person to go from WWE to AEW, return to WWE and then make it back to AEW.
Andrade El Idolo is back in AEW weeks after getting fired by WWE (Picture: AEW)
He has aligned himself with Don Callis (Picture: AEW)
‘Andrade swapping teams like his name is Big Show,’ joked @AHalfNickel on X. ‘Hope this run is better than his last ones both in AEW and WWE. Dude is mad talented and deserves to be given a spot to shine.’
‘I’m shocked Andrade didn’t have a 90 day clause,’ admitted @IRDGAF24, while @onelegbrynn wrote: ‘Andrade coming back to AEW was NOT on my wrestling bingo card in 2025.’
‘Genuinely shocked, did NOT expect to see Andrade 😳 #AEWDynamite,’ @NWalesPompey agreed, while others pointed out that his moves back and forth show that anything is possible now.
Andrade had left AEW in 2023 and returned to WWE at the 2024 Royal Rumble (Picture: Kyle Stevens/Shutterstock)
His last WWE match was at SummerSlam in August alongside Rey Fenix (Picture: Elsa/Getty Images)
Fan @otherlevel13 said: ‘Andrade back on AEW is now a huge sign for anyone that left AEW for WWE if it’s not working out over there you can just come back.’
As reported by various outlets last month, his latest WWE departure was not Andrade’s call, with claims it was a disciplinary issue.
His last bout for the company was at SummerSlam on August 3, where he and Rey Fenix took part in a six-team Tables, Ladders and Chairs match.
Back in February, it was revealed Andrade and fellow wrestler Charlotte Flair had got divorced after almost six years together.
Andrade and Charlotte Flair got divorced last year (Picture: Brian Ach/Getty Images for WWE)
Court records obtained by TMZ at the time showed that Charlotte actually filed to separate from her husband in June 2024, with the split being finalised four months later.
He left WWE in 2021 after confirming he had requested his release, joining AEW a few months later for a two-year stint.
In All Elite Wrestling, he was paired with Vickie Guerrero, the widow of late, great Eddie Guerrero and went onto feud with the likes of Pac and Cody Rhodes.
His final feud was with Miro at Worlds End 2023, and his contract expired at the end of the year, shortly before his WWE comeback.
