• Andrade Responds To Accusations He’s Involved In Mexican Cartel Amid AEW Absence
Andrade returned to AEW on the 6-year anniversary special episode of Dynamite at the start of the month, but then suddenly disappeared from AEW programming.
The reason behind his absence is WWE sending a letter to AEW, informing them that Andrade must abide by a non-compete clause. This situation could potentially sideline the former United States Champion from wrestling for up to a year.
This also led to AEW instructing its broadcast team to not bring up El Idolo or discuss his return angle on TV.
Andrade’s sudden disappearance caused wild speculation among fans. One fan even tweeted:
“Gonna be wild for me to say this. This is allegedly coming from me, but is it crazy to think Andrade may be involved in some Mexican cartel business or nationwide crime scheme? Something big is going on here.”
In response, Andrade took to X to address the rumors and posted:
“What?? Tranquilo amigo!! Will everyone please stop making things up?!”
• Tony Khan Shares Update On Britt Baker Amid Rumors She Might Be Done With AEW
Britt Baker hasn’t appeared on AEW programming since defeating Penelope Ford on the November 13, 2024, episode of Dynamite. Many fans expected the former AEW Women’s World Champion to return at Dynamite in her hometown of Pittsburgh following All Out, but she did not appear.
Baker recently removed AEW mentions from her social media handles, which began speculation that she’s done with All Elite Wrestling. However, that’s not the case.
In a recent interview with Superstar Crossover on Z100 New York, AEW President Tony Khan addressed Baker’s absence and confirmed she is still with the company.
“What a great star in AEW Dr. Britt Baker has been. She is still a fantastic, fantastic wrestling star. She’s been away from AEW for a while, but still very much with us, and at some point hopefully soon, I’d love to see Dr. Britt Baker come back.”
Over the past couple of years, Baker reportedly had issues with several stars in AEW. There were even reports that Tony Khan had become “fed up” with her and that she was actively seeking her release from the company.
• Released Star Says Paul Heyman Started Beef With Him To Boost WWE’s Poor Ratings
Braun Strowman and Paul Heyman recently had a heated exchange on social media after the WWE Hall of Famer claimed that his client, Bronson Reed, was the only person to ever put Roman Reigns on a stretcher. The Monster Among Men fired back with photos from his 2017 feud with Reigns, proving he had done it first.
Heyman then took a shot at Strowman’s relevance by tweeting that he was relieved to learn that the former WWE star was still alive.
In an interview with TMZ’s Inside The Ring podcast, Braun Strowman addressed the exchange. Here’s what the former Universal Champion said:
“I keep getting this tweeting with Paul Heyman. I never even talked about Paul or acknowledged Paul. I don’t know why he got so upset and came at me… Especially because he gets to see my face every commercial break on SmackDown, and let’s be for real, if anybody knows about me having a show about ordering everything on the menu, you think Paul would know.
I have no idea (why Heyman wrote what he did about me). I guess I struck a nerve or something. I don’t know. I didn’t deliberately, intentionally mean to talk to him or any of that stuff. I don’t know what’s going on, and maybe he’s just sensitive or something or maybe he misses me. That’s probably what it is. I think the ratings are struggling a little bit and they realize that when The Monster’s on TV, he draws ratings so who knows?”
• “She’s not really making money” – Tony Khan Tells Mercedes Moné’s Reality Outside Of AEW
Mercedes Moné signed with AEW last year and made her highly anticipated debut at the Big Business event.
While being one of the top stars in All Elite Wrestling and the longest-reigning TBS Women’s Champion, The CEO has also been active on the independent circuit, making several appearances across the globe. She currently holds 12 championships across different promotions.
In a recent interview with Superstar Crossover on Z100 New York, AEW President Tony Khan spoke about Moné’s busy schedule and passion for wrestling and made it clear that her outside appearances aren’t driven by money.
“It’s not about pure greed and money for Mercedes, because a lot of these places she’s wrestling – Winnipeg, Canada, Denmark – they’re not the highest-paying places. She’s not really making money from these.
She loves wrestling, she loves building up companies, she loves meeting new young stars, and she really cares about the craft and the sport of wrestling. It’s about competition, so as a competitor, she wants to go out and fight all over the world.”
