AEW’s Andrade revealed details about himself WWE exit and why he wanted to leave the promotion.
Andrade’s second run with WWE ended a year and a half after his return. Speaking with Chris Jericho “Talk Is JerichoHe explained that things had become awkward with him ex-wife Charlotte Flair after the divorceand also that he wasn’t inclined to wrestle in AAA, an idea that was suggested by WWE.
“I’m back in WWE working with my ex-wife (she felt weird. I don’t feel at home or comfortable, you know,” he began. “The story they’re giving me, they didn’t give me a specific good story, (or) direction. Later they wanted to send me to AAA. (They said), (But I said) I moved here to work with WWE. I know AAA, I respect AAA, I respect all companies. But WWE is all over the world and AAA is in Mexico. People know me in Mexico, so why should I work in AAA? I want people to know me all over the world, like in Australia and in many countries in Europe, WWE can be seen on TV or you can see it on Netflix or something.
Andrade said he joined WWE to work with top stars rather than return to Mexico, where he had already become a household name. He was happy to return to AEW and did so by attacking one of the biggest names in the promotion, Kenny Omega, something he wanted to do in WWE.
“When I came back to AEW, people responded (to me) well and I attacked Kenny Omega, (I thought to myself) I attacked (one of the) big guys. I wanted it,” he said. “So now that I beat Kenny, I have to go for the big boys.”
He added that he didn’t envision his release clause being longer than the usual three-month non-compete clause, as he ended up not being able to work for AEW five months after leaving WWE.