Coming out of April 2018, the then-Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas dropped the NXT Title to Aleister Black to close out a very strong in-ring reign and was main roster bound in WWE. He would be moved to SmackDown, have his name shortened to just Andrade, and remained fairly stagnant in WWE’s midcard.
The following years saw Andrade go thru a variety of professional and personal ups and downs from being released by WWE, signed by AEW, depart AEW for WWE after a drama-filled first tenure, rejoining his then-wife Charlotte Flair only to end up in the same spot he was before and the couple divorcing.
Andrade was ultimately fired by WWE, again, in September 2025 reportedly for “numerous WWE Wellness violations” during his second tenure.
He returned to AEW a few weeks later in October by attacking Kenny Omega and joining the Don Callis Family, only to have that temporarily halted after WWE accused Andrade of violating his non-compete clause. The alleged clause could have kept Andrade out of the ring, at the very least on TV, for a year.
The situation was resolved by December and Andrade was free to get back to work. He started by ringing in 2026 with New Japan on Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4 and New Year’s Dash on January 5 as United Empire’s new financial backer. He then returned to AEW TV, still part of the Don Callis Family, and to say he has hit the ground running would be an understatement.
In one month, Andrade appears to have made believers out of most wrestling fans that he could, should, and would be right at the top the card vying for world titles.
One Fateful Night
The evening before this was written, Andrade got to share the ring with Kenny Omega for the first time since a match in AAA for the AAA Mega Championship in August 2021.
Omega was in the midst of his Belt Collector run and Andrade had only been released from WWE a short time before this. It was a very good match, but was nothing that stood out among the rest of either wrestler’s career. Omega was also working through several injuries at the time, injuries that would keep Omega off AEW television for almost a year.
Additionally, Andrade is lacking the confidence he has exuded in his first month back with AEW. He is still good, but it appears as though the state of his career is getting to him.
The Omega and Andrade that met in the ring the evening of Wednesday February 4, 2026, are most certainly not the wrestlers they were when they met in the early 2010s. These are two men who have seen their share of injuries and professional struggles in that time, along with plenty of success and growth as professional wrestlers.
These were not the two who met while neither was at one-hundred percent physically or psychologically. Omega and Andrade were like a pair of seasoned, well-tuned muscle cars that may not be as fast as the supercars, but they’ll still out run 90% of what’s out there on top of having the size and strength to throw its weight around.
Omega and Andrade are every bit of the grizzled veterans they are and proved it on AEW Dynamite.
And in a situation where the winner of a number one contender’s match at AEW Grand Slam Australia punches their ticket to the main event of AEW Revolution, some fans expected to see Omega win to face ‘Hangman’ Adam Page in Australia to challenge the champion, who the week before many presumed would be Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
But in this one night, that may have changed.
Andrade would end up winning the match against Omega thanks to Swerve Strickland intervening to stop Andrade from hitting Omega with a screwdriver. Strickland distracted the referee as a result, allowing Andrade to hit a low blow on Omega followed by the DM to win.
Andrade is scheduled to face ‘Hangman’ Page in Australia at AEW Grand Slam on February 14, 2026.
Later in the night, Brody King faced MJF in Dynamite’s main event in an eliminator match where if King wins, he gets an AEW Men’s World Championship match in Australia. King has had a slow but steady rise in AEW with fans gravitating to his physical, hard-hitting style, his look, and his use of AEW to platform to promote LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights.
The latter of these four appears to have resonated the most with AEW’s audience and was on full display on this Dynamite with a very loud “F*ck ICE” chant as King and MJF met in the main event.
After the referee rings the bell, Page comes out on the stage to distract MJF. This leaves the AEW Men’s World Champion open to a hanging sleeper hold from King over the edge of the outside apron. King then drags MJF back in the ring and throws him in a corner to hit MJF with a running cannonball senton. King pulls MJF up and closes the match out with a Gonzo Bomb in the center of the ring, earning an AEW Men’s World Title match at Grand Slam Australia.
In one night, AEW set up the genuine possibility of Brody King going to AEW Revolution in King’s hometown of Los Angeles, California, at the Crypto.com Arena as AEW Men’s World Champion. Andrade could find himself standing across the ring as King’s opponent in the show’s likely main event.
Eight Years an Overnight Sensation
In King’s case, the end of the evening felt like a culmination of a long build for the 38-year-old, ten-year veteran. It felt as if he had been earmarked by AEW for a long time as a potential main event player, in spite of any bumps in the road he experienced in his near-four years with AEW.
Andrade’s rise up the AEW card in such a short period cannot be overstated. Saying it has been meteoric doesn’t do justice to how quickly Andrade rose up the card and started knocking on AEW’s main event scene. He has beaten Swerve Strickland and Kenny Omega in back to back weeks and doesn’t feel out of place at all.
To steal a phrase, he waited eight years to become an overnight sensation.
Watching Andrade in the ring the last several weeks, it is as if he has rediscovered what made him NXT Champion to lose out 2017 and ring in 2018 for the then-Black and Gold brand. He is carrying himself with a clear and present confidence that has been missing for the last several years. Andrade remembered who he is and what he can do and is showing that on TV every week.
The skeptic would say this is likely due to Andrade knowing this is probably his last shot at a major, televised wrestling promotion and is on his best behavior in and out of the ring. Even if that is the truth, it is paying off for Andrade. Between his ring work looking the best it has in years and the confidence written all over his face, Andrade is proving how natural he fits right in at the top of the card.
Just The Start?
All this could just be first of many big moments to come for Andrade on this second outing with AEW.
As mentioned earlier, King vs. Andrade is a genuine possibility to main event AEW Revolution for the AEW Men’s World Championship. It would be the ideal situation for any promotion to find itself in as either wrestler leaving with the world title if a good direction. There are plenty of opponents lined up that can be put up against King or Andrade and either one works. An Andrade may have slightly more longevity since he is a heel so it may be easier to build up fresh opponents, but its a win-win all around.
Then there is Andrade’s involvement with the Don Callis Family, which is experiencing some internal issues at the moment due to friction between Konosuke Takeshita and Kazuchika Okada. Depending on how things shake out, it could leave an opening at the top of the Don Callis Family and Andrade would be in the perfect position to claim that spot for himself.
And this isn’t to mention what his involvement in New Japan and United Empire could be beyond just the odd appearance with the faction for bigger shows. He could also find his way back to CMLL, this time as Andrade el Idolo and not La Sombra.
The sky looks to be the limit for Andrade this time around, and at the rate he’s going, he could very well surpass that in record time.
Minimum Wage Nerd 