Why Andrade Hasn't Been On AEW Television, Explained
William Smith
Published Mar 27, 2026
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When Andrade first joined All Elite Wrestling, fans had high hopes for him. There was no denying that Andrade was a talented wrestler, and people wanted him to reach greater heights in Tony Khan’s promotion. However, his run so far has not lived up to their expectations. El Idolo debuted on the June 4, 2021, episode of Dynamite with Vickie Guerrero serving as his manager. He's had several great matches in the company, but aside from that, there's not much to talk about his AEW run. He hasn't even appeared in AEW programming for months now, and those who don't tune into the shows regularly might be confused about his absence.
RELATED: 10 Pictures Of Andrade Like You've Never Seen Him Before
Andrade Was Suspended Last Year After Punching Sammy Guevara
Andrade wrestled his last AEW match at All Out last year, where he participated in the Casino Ladder Match. A few weeks later, he was advertised to wrestle The Dark Order’s 10 in a Career vs Mask match, where Andrade’s AEW career and Preston Vance’s mask were on the line on an AEW Rampage episode. This match was scrapped and replaced by an AEW World Trios Championship match between The Death Triangle and The Dark Order. This happened because Andrade and Sammy Guevara had a physical altercation backstage before the October 5, 2022 episode of Dynamite.
Both wrestlers had been shoot tweeting against each other online before this incident. Andrade allegedly punched Sammy a few times in the hallway before it was broken up. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Guevara didn’t hit Andrade. Following this incident, Andrade was quietly suspended by Tony Khan, and he’s not been seen in AEW since.
The fight happened after Andrade talked about Sammy in an interview and revealed he once came to the locker room and “accused me like a little girl” of hitting him too hard. When Andrade confronted him, Sammy said he had no problem with him. But as per Sammy, this wasn’t true. In one tweet, Guevara wrote: “YOU didn't say s*** to me you liar but heres some truth you ungrateful prick. You would be jobless if it wasn't for your dad in law. Are you really mad at me or mad at yourself for failing to get over for a SECOND time. Just go back to WWE like we all know you want to do & f*** off.” Andrade replied to Sammy and said “Ok I’m a liar 😂 see you on Wednesday!! I’ll tell you to your face again!!! and nothing you say that you do not have any problem!"
Both wrestlers were reportedly warned by AEW on Tuesday not to get physical or else they’d be sent back home, and they "assured" things wouldn’t get to this. Andrade even said in a tweet that “I wont beat your a** because im a professional.” Andrade was also told that any fight wouldn’t lead to him getting released from AEW because that’s what he was going for. Andrade did get sent home, but Sammy still wrestled in the main event of Dynamitethat night. This reportedly upset many wrestlers backstage, but Tony Khan likely made this decision because Guevara wasn’t in the wrong here.
Andrade Wants To Leave AEW
During an interview with Más Lucha last year, Andrade said he was feeling “stagnant” in AEW and wanted more. It’s been reported that Andrade was trying to get out of his AEW contract with his backstage fight with Sammy, but Tony Khan strictly told him that wasn’t going to happen.
Andrade signed a 3-year deal with AEW in June 2021, so he’s signed through June 2024 at least. In the past few months, he’s posted several cryptic tweets indicating that he’s done with AEW, but that could just be Andrade being himself since he’s a notorious troller.
Will Andrade Return To AEW?
In November 2022, Andrade underwent surgery for his torn pectoral muscle which he sustained during the AEW World Trios Title Tournament qualifier match against The Elite on the August 17 episode of Dynamite. Andrade’s future with AEW is uncertain at the moment. Khan likely wouldn’t release Andrade because it would set a wrong precedent among the roster. Andrade is currently recovering from the surgery, and according to Fightful, he won’t be available until Spring.
It’s hard to predict Andrade’s future at the moment. Despite everyone agreeing that he did indeed try to leave AEW last year, the wrestler denied those claims in a deleted tweet. Fans will just have to wait to see what happens to El Idolo but Tony Khan did say last year that fans could see Andrade again on television.
