On March 21, WWE officially released Andrade from his contract. Andrade reportedly requested his release on March 8. He confirmed his release request on March 18.
Andrade would later confirm that he did not have a 90-day non-compete clause as part of his release.
Speaking to Lucha Libre Online (translation via Carlos Toro), Andrade discussed the circumstances surrounding his WWE release.
“When the pandemic started, they put me with Drew McIntyre. Drew was great with me and behaved well with me in NXT and on the main roster. We had the matches and a producer came to me and said, ‘Make sure Drew looks like a monster, because he’s the champ.’ Drew came to me and told me to wrestle how I know to wrestle, saying that he doesn’t need me to make him look good, but to wrestle how I wrestle best. A lot of people treated me well, Drew too and Randy Orton. [Randy] would ask me, ‘Why aren’t they using you?’ I didn’t know what to say and didn’t know what was going on. After that, I made the decision [to leave]," Andrade said.
He also confirmed he tested positive for COVID-19 and he was granted his release during quarantine.
When discussing the hardest part of leaving, Andrade said, “To make the decision, the hardest part was not getting to be close to Charlotte and going to events with [Charlotte].”
Charlotte and Andrade are currently engaged to be married.
Andrade noted that he was making big money when he got moved from NXT to the main roster in 2018, money that he left on the table upon asking for his release.
“I’ve been with WWE. I had a great contract with WWE, a great contract. Three million per year. Several million dollars per year, a lot more than plenty of guys coming up from NXT. I heard about some of those contracts. I made a lot more than those guys," he said.
Andrade hadn't been used on WWE television since October 2020 when he and Zelina Vega were taken out by "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss. He reportedly underwent a minor elective procedure that would keep him out for a month.
In the interview, Andrade said he was cleared in November, but Vince McMahon and Triple H had no idea, even when he asked for his release.
Andrade was not part of the 2020 WWE Draft. Charlotte noted in an interview with TVInsider that she pitched working with Andrade on-screen, but the plan never came to fruition.
Thanks to Carlos Toro for the translations and Luis Pulido for contributing to the article. If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Carlos, Luis, and Fightful for the transcription.
