Early career (2003–2007) With his father, uncles and grandfather being involved in running a local
lucha libre promotion and school in Durango, Andrade began training for a professional career from an early age, initially by playing around with his father and uncles, but later began to train seriously for a career in the wrestling ring. He made his professional wrestling debut on October 3, 2003, a month before his 14th birthday, but only after his father signed a waiver for the local boxing and wrestling commission to issue him a license. Working for his family's wrestling promotion Andrade used the name "Brillante Jr." from 2003 through early 2007. During that period of time, he got involved in a storyline rivalry with his uncle who wrestled as "Zafiro", leading to his first ever
Lucha de Apuestas, or bet match. By defeating Zafiro he won his first headline match, forcing Zafiro to have all his hair shaved off after the match per
lucha libre traditions. In June CMLL changed his name, rechristening him La Sombra ("The Shadow"). CMLL previously had other people work under the name "La Sombra" in the 1980s and 1990s; CMLL did not promote the most recent La Sombra as having any relation to the previous incarnations at all, although the relationship was later subtly acknowledged when La Sombra began wrestling in a black and silver version of his father's mask. The following month, La Sombra teamed up with
El Sagrado and
Volador Jr. to defeat
Mr. Águila,
Damián 666, and
Halloween, collectively known as
Los Perros del Mal ("The Bad Dogs"), to win the
Mexican National Trios Championship. La Sombra's time as a triple champion lasted just over two weeks, until February 3, when
Sangre Azteca,
Black Warrior, and
Dragón Rojo Jr., collectively known as
Poder Mexica ("Mexican Power") defeated La Sombra, Volador, and Sagrado to win the Mexican National Trios Championship. On May 27, 2009, La Sombra lost the NWA World Welterweight Championship to Mephisto. In early 2010 La Sombra began a
storyline feud with
El Felino. The feud began on February 2, 2010, during a singles match between El Felino and La Sombra; when tied at one fall each,
Puma King, El Felino's son, showed up wearing an El Felino outfit and mask, distracting both the referee and La Sombra long enough for El Felino to land a low blow on La Sombra to win the match. The two met in a
Lighting match (a one fall, 10 minute time limit match) on the February 19
CMLL Super Viernes show. Once again Puma King tried to help his uncle, but this time the referee disqualified El Felino for the transgression. La Sombra and El Felino continued to feud, both interfering in a match between Volador Jr. and Místico. The storyline led to Místico, Volador Jr., La Sombra and El Felino being booked in a four-way
Lucha de Apuestas match as the main event of the 2010
2010 Homenaje a Dos Leyendas ("Homage to Two Legends") show. La Sombra was the first man pinned at
Dos Leyendas and El Felino was the second, forcing the two to compete with their masks on the line. La Sombra pinned El Felino, forcing him to unmask and reveal his real name. On May 14, 2010, La Sombra teamed up with
Máscara Dorada and
La Máscara to defeat the then CMLL World Trios Champions
La Ola Amarilla ("The Yellow Wave";
Hiroshi Tanahashi,
Okumura, and
Taichi) in a non-title match to earn a shot at the Championship the following week. One week later the trio defeated
Ola Amarilla again, ending the Japanese trios title reign after just two weeks. La Sombra and Histeria were the first team to escape the match and retain their masks. While La Sombra had traveled to Japan to participate in the
2010 Best of the Super Juniors (BOSJ) tournament Volador Jr. had begun showing
rudo signs, but when La Sombra returned the two teamed back up without any signs of problems between the two Sombra and Volador Jr. lost the CMLL World Tag Team Championship to the
Los Invasores team of Mr. Águila and
Héctor Garza on
July 23, 2010, again without any signs of dissension between the two. During a later show Volador Jr. finally turned fully
rudo when he attacked La Sombra and tore La Sombra's mask off, provoking a feud between the two longtime partners. La Sombra entered the
2010 Universal Championship tournament and qualified for the finals when he won "Block A" on the
July 30, 2010, Super Viernes show by defeating Mephisto,
El Texano Jr., and Último Guerrero. In the finals
Jyushin Thunder Liger, with help from Okumura at ringside, defeated La Sombra to claim the tournament trophy. The unresolved issues between La Sombra and Volador Jr., as well as the storyline between La Sombra and Jyushin Thunder Liger, led to all three wrestlers being booked in the main event of the
CMLL 77th Anniversary Show, a 14-man
steel cage Lucha de Apuestas, mask vs. mask match. The match came down to Olímpico and La Sombra after the other 12 men had escaped the cage; La Sombra pinned Olímpico to force him to unmask. On March 13, 2011, La Sombra defeated Mephisto to win the
NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship. On July 15,
La Generación Dorada lost the CMLL World Trios Championship to
Los Hijos del Averno (Averno,
Ephesto and Mephisto). On September 16, La Sombra defeated Averno to become the 2011 Universal Champion. On February 13, 2012, La Sombra lost the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship to
Negro Casas, ending his reign at 337 days. On November 28, 2012, La Sombra won the advanced category in CMLL's annual
bodybuilding contest. On February 15, 2013, La Sombra defeated Volador Jr. to win the
2013 Reyes del Aire tournament. Following their clash over the
Reyes del Aire trophy Volador Jr. and La Sombra were teamed up for the 2013
Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles tournament, the same tournament that in 2010 was the impetus for Volador Jr.'s
rudo turn. The rivals put their issues aside for the tournament, defeating the teams of
Guerrero Maya Jr. and Negro Casas, La Máscara and Averno, and
Shocker and
Mr. Niebla to qualify for the finals of the tournament. On March 15, at the 2013
Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show, Volador Jr. and La Sombra defeated Altantis and Último Guerrero to win the
Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles. On September 13 at
CMLL's 80th Anniversary Show, La Sombra and Volador Jr. defeated Atlantis and Último Guerrero in a
Relevos Suicidas match and thus advanced to a Mask vs. Mask
Lucha de Apuestas against each other. In the end, La Sombra was victorious, forcing his rival to unmask.
Los Ingobernables (2014–2015) The main event of the 80th Anniversary show was not well received by the fans as they had been expecting a match between Atlantis and Último Guerrero, loudly chanting "fraud" during the main event. On June 6, La Sombra defeated Volador Jr. with help from Rush and La Máscara to win the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship in a match, where La Sombra's Historic Middleweight Championship was also on the line. The trio of Sombra, Rush and La Máscara was eventually named
Los Ingobernables ("The Ungovernables"). On August 1 at
El Juicio Final, La Sombra lost the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship back to Volador Jr. Later in August, La Sombra made it to the finals of the
2014 Universal Championship tournament, before losing to Último Guerrero. On May 1, 2015, La Sombra won the
2015 Reyes del Aire tournament ("Kings of the Air"). On July 21, La Sombra and Rush were involved in an incident in Guadalajara, where they attacked fans who were throwing beers at them during a match. The following day,
Jalisco's Boxing and Wrestling Commission suspended the two from wrestling in the state for three months. While the commission only suspended them from wrestling in Jalisco, CMLL decided to pull both La Sombra and Rush from their
Super Viernes show three days later. CMLL did not offer an official explanation for the change. Over the summer of 2015
Los Ingobernables started to wrestle against
tecnico teams instead of generally facing
rudo teams as they had been up to that point. By August 2015,
Los Ingobernables found themselves facing off against Atlantis on multiple occasions, often with La Sombra going out of his way to attack Atlantis, tearing Atlantis' mask apart during matches to show his disdain for the veteran
tecnico. On August 31, La Sombra lost the NWA World Historic Middleweight Championship to Último Guerrero, ending his two and a half year reign. In the main event of the
CMLL 82nd Anniversary Show on September 18, 2015, La Sombra, the winner of the main event of the 80th Anniversary, put his mask on the line against the winner of the main event of the 81st Anniversary Show, Atlantis. Atlantis won the
Lucha de Apuestas match and, as a result, La Sombra was forced to unmask and reveal his real name. the two founding members of
Los Ingobernables made peace with each other.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2010–2015) In 2010 La Sombra was selected to be the CMLL representative for
New Japan Pro-Wrestling's (NJPW)
Best of the Super Juniors XVII (BOSJ) tournament that took place from May 30 to June 16, 2010, in Japan. The tournament marked the first time that La Sombra toured Japan. On May 30, 2010, La Sombra wrestled his first match in the tournament, defeating
Tiger Mask. On the final day of the tournament he defeated the junior heavyweight wrestling innovator, Jyushin Thunder Liger. With just three wins in the tournament and a total of six points, he did not advance to the semi-finals. In November 2010 La Sombra and Máscara Dorada took part in New Japan's five-day-long Super J Tag League. After winning two out of their four matches in the group stage, La Sombra and Dorada finished third in their block, missing the finals of the tournament. in 2011 La Sombra and Dorada returned to New Japan on January 4, 2011, at
Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome, where they defeated Jyushin Thunder Liger and Héctor Garza in a tag team match, when Sombra pinned Liger. As a result of his victory he was granted a match for Liger's
CMLL World Middleweight Championship in the process. La Sombra received his match for the championship on January 22, 2011, at
Fantastica Mania 2011, but lost to Liger. La Sombra returned to NJPW in August 2011 to take part in the
2011 G1 Climax. La Sombra started the tournament by picking up wins over
Wataru Inoue and fellow CMLL worker
Strong Man, but then went on to lose his remaining seven matches in the tournament, finishing eighth out of the ten wrestlers in his block. La Sombra returned to Japan in January 2012 to take part in the
Fantastica Mania 2012 events. In the main event of the second night of the tour, La Sombra successfully defended the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship against Volador Jr. La Sombra returned to New Japan in April 2012 to take part in the
2012 New Japan Cup. After defeating
Yoshi-Hashi in his first round match, he was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by
Hirooki Goto. In January 2013, La Sombra took part in the three-day
Fantastica Mania 2013 event. During the second night of the tour, La Sombra unsuccessfully challenged Nakamura for the
IWGP Intercontinental Championship. During the third and final night, La Sombra defeated Dragón Rojo Jr. to win the NWA World Historic Middleweight Championship. On May 31, 2013, La Sombra defeated Nakamura in a rematch in Mexico City to win the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, becoming the first Mexican to hold that championship. On July 20, he lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship back to Nakamura during a tour of Japan. From November 23 to December 6, La Sombra took part in the
2013 World Tag League, where he and
Tetsuya Naito finished with a record of three wins and three losses, failing to advance to the semifinals. In January 2014, La Sombra took part in the five-day
Fantastica Mania 2014 tour. La Sombra returned to New Japan in November to take part in the
2014 World Tag League, teaming with Tetsuya Naito once more. The team finished in the middle of their block with four wins and three losses. In January 2015, La Sombra returned to Japan to take part in the
Fantastica Mania 2015 tour, during which he feuded with Máscara Dorada, culminating in a singles match between the two on January 19, where La Sombra was victorious.
WWE (2015–2021) Early feuds (2015–2017) On November 19, 2015, Andrade signed a
developmental contract with
WWE. He later reported to the
WWE Performance Center to begin his WWE career, focusing initially on improving his English language skills with the help of
Sarah Stock, a WWE trainer who worked for CMLL for almost a decade. He made his WWE in-ring debut at an NXT
house show in Tampa, Florida on January 8, 2016, wrestling under the name "Manny Andrade" and defeating
Riddick Moss. He made his
NXT TakeOver debut at
NXT TakeOver: Dallas on April 1, where he defeated
Christopher Girard during a
dark match. The following month, Andrade was given the new ring name Andrade "Cien" Almas (Spanish for Andrade "100" Almas). At
NXT TakeOver: The End on June 8, Almas defeated
Tye Dillinger. At
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II on August 20, Almas was defeated by the debutant
Bobby Roode. On October 5 episode of
NXT, after losing to
The Revival in the first round of the
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, Almas took out his frustrations by attacking his tag team partner
Cedric Alexander, thus turning
heel in the process. By defeating
No Way Jose on December 14 episode of
NXT, Almas qualified for a fatal four-way match to determine a new number one contender to the
NXT Championship but was eliminated by
Roderick Strong. At
NXT TakeOver: San Antonio on January 28, 2017, Almas was defeated by Roderick Strong.
NXT Champion (2017–2018) alongside his manager
Zelina Vega at
NXT TakeOver: New Orleans in April 2018 On the July 19 episode of
NXT, Almas appeared with an unidentified woman and attacked
Cezar Bononi before threatening No Way Jose, though Almas ran away when Jose ran back into the ring. After being absent from in-ring competition, Almas returned being accompanied by the woman who turned out to be his new
manager Zelina Vega, defeating Jose on the August 9 episode of
NXT and pacting a match at
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III against
Johnny Gargano on August 19, which Almas won. Almas returned on the October 11 episode of
NXT, where he once again defeated Gargano. On the November 1 episode of
NXT, Almas signed a contract where he pacted a match against
Drew McIntyre for the NXT Championship, before attacking him later that night. On November 18 at
NXT TakeOver: WarGames, Almas defeated McIntyre to become the new NXT Champion. On January 27, 2018, at
NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, Almas successfully defended the title against Johnny Gargano. Almas's match with Gargano at TakeOver: Philadelphia was highly acclaimed, earning five stars from
Wrestling Observer Newsletter journalist
Dave Meltzer, making it the first match in NXT history to receive a five-star rating. On January 28, at the
Royal Rumble, Almas made his first main roster appearance entering as a surprise entrant at number 7 during the
Royal Rumble match, in which he eliminated
Kofi Kingston before being eliminated by
Randy Orton. On February 3 during an
NXT house show, Almas teamed with Zelina Vega in her first match as part of the company, in which they were defeated by Johnny Gargano and
Candice LeRae. On February 21 episode of
NXT, Almas retained the title against Gargano after interference from
Tommaso Ciampa. At
NXT TakeOver: New Orleans on April 7, Almas lost the NXT Championship to
Aleister Black, ending his reign at 140 days. On April 18 episode of
NXT, Almas accompanied Zelina Vega during her first televised match against Candice LeRae, in which she was defeated and this turned out to be Almas' and Vega's last appearances on NXT.
Various feuds (2018–2019) On April 17, 2018, Almas, alongside Zelina Vega, was drafted to
SmackDown brand as part of the
Superstar Shake–up. A month later, in his in-ring debut, Almas defeated a
local wrestler on the May 15 episode of
SmackDown Live. Shortly after his debut, Almas was placed in his first
feud with
Sin Cara, who tried to convince him to "reconnect" again only for Almas to attack him. Almas defeated Sin Cara on July 10 episode of
SmackDown Live and again five days later in a rematch at the
Extreme Rules Kickoff Show to end their feud. On July 17 episode of
SmackDown Live, Almas suffered his first loss as part of main roster by then–
WWE Champion AJ Styles in a non–title match. Throughout August, Almas and Vega started a feud with
Rusev and
Lana whom they would defeat in various singles matches. This led to a
mixed tag team match between the two teams on the Kickoff Show for
SummerSlam on August 19, where Almas and Vega were victorious. Two days later on
SmackDown Live, Almas and Vega lost to Rusev and Lana in a rematch, ending their feud in the process. Throughout the rest of the year, Almas continued to perform in various singles and tag team matches, most of which he would go on to lose. On January 15, 2019, his ring name was shortened to Andrade, and he was announced as an entrant for the
Royal Rumble match, where he was one of the final four, before being eliminated by
Braun Strowman. A match between Andrade and
Rey Mysterio was scheduled for the
Fastlane pay-per-view, but it was cancelled in favor of both men competing in a fatal four-way match for the
United States Championship, where
Samoa Joe retained in a match also involving
R-Truth. At
WrestleMania 35, Andrade competed in the
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but failed to win after he accidentally eliminated himself, when he eliminated
Apollo Crews. On April 15, both Andrade and Vega were drafted to
Raw brand as part of
Superstar Shake-up. However, on April 23, Andrade and Vega were moved back to the
SmackDown brand. At the
Money in the Bank, Andrade competed in the
ladder match, which he failed to win. At
Super ShowDown, Andrade failed to capture the
Intercontinental Championship from
Finn Bálor. In August, Andrade competed in the
King of the Ring tournament, where he defeated Apollo Crews in the first round, but lost to
Chad Gable in the quarterfinals.
United States Champion and teaming with Angel Garza (2019–2021) As part of the
2019 draft, Andrade and Vega were drafted to Raw. On December 26, during a house show at
Madison Square Garden, Andrade defeated Rey Mysterio to win the United States Championship for the first time. Andrade successfully retained the title against Mysterio on the January 6, 2020 and January 20 episodes of
Raw. At the
Royal Rumble on January 26, Andrade defeated
Humberto Carrillo to retain his championship. The next day, Andrade was suspended for 30 days, for violating WWE's Wellness Policy. To write him off television, an angle took place on
Raw, where Carrillo delivered a Hammerlock DDT on Andrade onto cement. With Andrade absent over the next month, Zelina Vega brought up her new associate,
Angel Garza, who is Carrillo's cousin, and the two then feuded. Andrade returned at
Super ShowDown, competing in the
gauntlet match for the Tuwaiq Trophy, but was eliminated by R-Truth. At
Elimination Chamber, Andrade retained his title against Carrillo once again. Andrade was scheduled to team with Garza to face
The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) for the
Raw Tag Team Championship at
WrestleMania 36, but Andrade was removed from that match due to an injury and was replaced by
Austin Theory. On the April 13 episode of
Raw, Andrade, Garza and Theory attacked
Akira Tozawa, creating a new faction. However, this would be short-lived, as Theory was kicked out of the faction on the May 18 episode of
Raw. On the May 25 episode of
Raw, Andrade lost the United States Championship to Apollo Crews, ending his reign at 151 days. He failed to regain the title from Crews at
Backlash, after failed interference from Garza. Andrade began a tag team with Garza, including a title match against The Street Profits at
SummerSlam and
Clash of Champions, where they were unsuccessful. On the October 12 episode of
Raw, Andrade lost to Garza before allowing him and Vega to be attacked by
The Fiend and
Alexa Bliss, thus officially splitting up the team. This would wind up being his final WWE match in his first tenure as Andrade disappeared from WWE programming soon after while Vega was released in November. In March 2021, Andrade requested his release from WWE and was initially denied, but WWE eventually granted his release on March 21.
Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (2021–2022) On May 2, 2021, Andrade appeared via video package on
Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide's Rey de Reyes show, challenging
AAA Mega Champion Kenny Omega to a championship match at
Triplemanía XXIX. On May 18, the match was officially announced. At the event, Andrade, accompanied by
Ric Flair, was defeated by Omega. On April 30, 2022, at
Triplemanía XXX: Monterrey, Andrade, who was teamed with
Cibernético and
Deonna Purrazzo, was defeated by
Bandido,
Taya, and
Pagano in a
trios match.
All Elite Wrestling (2021–2023) Andrade made his debut for
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on the June 4, 2021, episode of
Dynamite, under the new ring name "Andrade El Ídolo". He was managed by Jose the assistant. He allied himself with
Vickie Guerrero, who would serve as his manager. At the
Road Rager event on July 7, Andrade made his in-ring debut for AEW, defeating
Matt Sydal. Later that month, he would end his affiliation with Vickie Guerrero, and introduced her nephew
Chavo Guerrero as his new "consultant". In August, Andrade began a feud with
Pac, leading to a match on the September 10 episode of
Rampage, which Andrade won; after the match he would attack Chavo, ending their partnership. On the October 6 episode of
Dynamite, Andrade competed in a
Casino Ladder Match for an opportunity at the
AEW World Championship, but the match was won by
Adam Page. At the end of the year, Andrade began a feud with
Cody Rhodes, which ended in Andrade being defeated by Rhodes in an Atlanta street fight on the December 1 episode of
Dynamite. In January 2022, Andrade joined the
Hardy Family Office, renaming to the Andrade Hardy Family Office (AHFO). The two then began a feud with the
Lucha Brothers (
Penta Oscuro and
Rey Fénix), which ended in a tornado tag team match on the August 10 episode of
Dynamite, where Andrade and Rush were victorious. On October 5, it was reported Andrade was sent home after a legitimate backstage altercation with Sammy Guevara. In late 2022, it was revealed Andrade suffered a torn pectoral and would be out of action. During his hiatus, Andrade quietly left LFI. Andrade, now a
babyface for the first time since 2016, returned from injury on the debut episode of
AEW Collision on June 17, 2023, where he defeated
Buddy Matthews. This would begin a feud between Andrade and
House of Black (
Malakai Black,
Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and
Julia Hart) after the group stole Andrade's entrance mask. Andrade would regain the mask after defeating Matthews again in a ladder match on the July 19 edition of
Collision. On November 22, Andrade was announced as the participant in the inaugural
Continental Classic, where he was placed in the Blue block. Andrade finished with 9 points, but would fail to qualify for the semi-finals after losing a tiebreaker to
Eddie Kingston. During this time, Andrade started being managed by
CJ and later began a feud with
Miro, who was CJ's legitimate husband. Andrade would later lose his final AEW match to Miro at
Worlds End on December 30 with CJ costing him the match. Worlds End would feature Andrade's last appearance in AEW programming in his first tenure; as his contract would expire at the end of 2023, which was confirmed by
Tony Khan in the post-show media scrum.
Independent circuit (2021–2023) On June 12, 2021, Andrade made an appearance for RGR Lucha Libre, teaming with Piloto Suicda and VIP to defeat
El Hijo del Santo,
Misterioso, and Rey Leon. On July 31, 2022 at
Ric Flair's Last Match, Andrade teamed with
Ric Flair in Flair's retirement match to defeat
Jay Lethal and
Jeff Jarrett. On November 27, 2023, Andrade appeared for Cinta De Oro Promotions, defeating
Cinta De Oro to win the IOCW Championship the main event, only to lose it back to Cinta De Oro a month later in a
ladder match. On December 9, 2023, Andrade made his debut for
Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) at Highest In The Room 2, defeating
Joey Janela.
Return to CMLL (2023) On the December 15, 2023 edition of
Viernes Espectacular, Oropeza, under his Andrade persona, made his return to CMLL after eight years, teaming with
Angel de Oro and
Soberano Jr. to defeat
Atlantis Jr.,
Mistico, and
Star Jr. Andrade would continue to appear for CMLL for the rest of the month in various tag matches with his final date being the December 29 episode of
Viernes Espectacular, where he was defeated by
Volador Jr..
Return to WWE (2024–2025) onto
Carmelo Hayes in August 2024 Andrade made his return to WWE on January 27, 2024 at the
Royal Rumble as a surprise entrant in the men's
Royal Rumble match, where he was eliminated by
Bronson Reed. Andrade was placed in a storyline with
Dominik Mysterio, signaling an alliance between the two, however, on the April 5 episode of
SmackDown, Andrade revealed this alliance to be ruse and turned on Dominik by helping
Rey Mysterio, thus turning
face. This led to a match at
WrestleMania XL, where Andrade teamed with Rey to defeat Dominik and
Santos Escobar. On the
WWE Draft, which occurred on April 26, 2024, Andrade was drafted to
SmackDown. During the
WWE Speed tapings on June 7, 2024, Andrade defeated
Ricochet to win the
WWE Speed Championship, retaining the title until he lost it on the November 15 tapings of
Speed against
Dragon Lee (his title win and title lost were aired on which aired on June 14 and November 20). On July 6 at
Money in the Bank, Andrade participated in the Men's
Money in the Bank ladder match, but failed to win. In the same month, Andrade began a feud with
Carmelo Hayes. By the end of September 2024, Andrade and Hayes had won three matches each against each other. On the October 25 episode of
SmackDown, Andrade and Hayes'
game seven match, which was also for a United States Championship match opportunity, ended in a no-contest after
special guest referee LA Knight attacked both men, ending their
best-of-seven series match at three wins, three losses and one draw each. After the match, SmackDown general manager
Nick Aldis announced that Knight will defend his title against Andrade and Hayes in a triple threat match at
Crown Jewel, where Knight retained his title. On June 7, 2025 at
Money in the Bank, Andrade competed in his second consecutive Men's Money in the Bank ladder match, but failed to win once again. After Money in the Bank, Andrade formed a tag team with
Rey Fénix, competing at night 2 of
SummerSlam, in a
Six-Pack tag team Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the
WWE Tag Team Championship, but failed to win. This would be Andrade's final match in WWE, as he departed WWE on September 13. According to PWInsider, he was fired by WWE "due to numerous WWE Wellness violations over the last year".
Non-compete clause violation On October 16, it was reported by
Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Andrade had violated a
non-compete clause due to his appearance for
All Elite Wrestling, which took effect upon his termination from WWE and may be kept out of the ring for up to a year for violating said clause. On a November 28 interview with
DeporTV, Andrade claimed that his lawyers were in discussions with WWE regarding the non-compete clause. Despite being under the clause, Andrade was granted permission to make an appearance for
World Wrestling Council on December 13.
Return to AEW (2025–present) On October 1, 2025 at the
sixth anniversary episode of
Dynamite, Andrade El Ídolo made his surprise return to AEW as a heel, where he attacked
Kenny Omega and joined the
Don Callis Family. However, Andrade was removed from television and creative plans after WWE sent a
cease-and-desist letter to AEW that claimed that his appearance violated a
non-compete clause that took effect upon his termination. Andrade made his in-ring return on January 17 at
Collision: Maximum Carnage, defeating
Angélico in a
squash match. Andrade would go on to defeat
Swerve Strickland and Kenny Omega in back-to-back matches on
Dynamite to advance to a number one contender's match at
Grand Slam Australia on February 14 for an
AEW World Championship opportunity, where he was defeated by
"Hangman" Adam Page. On March 15 at
Revolution, Andrade defeated the
ROH World Champion Bandido in a non-title match. On April 12 at
Dynasty, Andrade was defeated by
Darby Allin and proceeded to show respect to Allin by shaking his hand after the match, teasing a potental face turn.
Return to independent circuit (2025–present) On October 3, 2025, Andrade appeared for the Mexican promotion
The Crash Lucha Libre, where he defeated
DMT Azul for
The Crash Heavyweight Championship. He was booked to appear on the 14th The Crash Anniversary show, but left the event before the show started. On December 13, Andrade made an appearance for Puerto Rican promotion
World Wrestling Council (WWC) at
Lockout: The Closing of the Season 2025, where he defeated Xavant to win the
WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship. He also made an appearance on December 19 with American promotion
House of Glory (HOG) at
Winter Warfare, where he attacked
Charles Mason. On January 10, 2026, Andrade made an appearance for the French promotion Association les Professionnels du Catch (APC) at
Anniversary XXII, where he defeated Mecca and
Ricky Sosa in a
three-way match. On February 7, Andrade made an appearance for the
German Wrestling Federation (GWF) at
Global Warning, where he defeated Rambo to win the
GWF World Championship. On March 12, Andrade vacated the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship for undisclosed reasons, ending his reign at 89 days. He lost the GWF World Championship on April 19 at
Mystery Mayhem to
Ahura, ending his reign at 71 days.
Return to NJPW (2025–present) On December 22, 2025, during NJPW’s Road to Tokyo Dome tour, Orapeza made his first appearance for the promotion since 2015 through a pre-recorded video, and his first appearance under his Andrade persona. He was revealed as a new member of the
United Empire and announced as one of the mystery partners for their
ten-man tag team match at
Wrestle Kingdom 20.. On January 4, 2026 at Wrestle Kingdom 20, Andrade and his new stablemates
Callum Newman,
Great-O-Khan,
Henare, and
Jake Lee defeated
Bullet Club War Dogs (
David Finlay,
Gabe Kidd, and
Drilla Moloney) and Unaffiliated (
Shingo Takagi and
Hiromu Takahashi). On February 11 at
The New Beginning in Osaka, Andrade defeated Gabe Kidd to earn an
IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship match against
Yota Tsuji at
The New Beginning USA, but failed to win the title at the event on February 27. On Night 1 of
Wrestlng Dontaku on May 3, Andrade replaced an injured Gabe Kidd to face and defeat Tsuji in a rematch for the Global Heavyweight Championship. ==Professional wrestling persona==