At the AEW Worlds End media scrum, Tony Khan confirmed that Andrade El Idolo would be leaving the company when his contract expires at the end of the year. With 2023 rolling over to 2024, the international star has officially become a free agent. El Idolo has released a statement on social media confirming the news.
“I want to thank you for this time that I belonged to the company @aew,” he began. “And above all to Tony khan I also want to say goodby to all the talent, security people, cameramen, referees and everyone who works in the company for being part of my time in AEW. kenny, young bucks, tazz, Shiavone, Aubrey, Jerry, Hobbs, hook, Kingston, Ricky, Orange, thunder, jack Perry, Austin, Colten, Sonjay and many more that I can name.
“Also how to forget all the Mexicans (todo el relajo) I enjoyed sharing the ring with STING, PAC, Darby, Garcia, Jay and many more. I would have loved to face MOX, Page, Hobbs, Ricky, Dante, Cage, Dustin. Thank you AEW AND Thank you to all the fans for your support always. I wish you the best always!!!.”
WWE is reportedly where El Idolo will land next, which is unsurprising considering how strongly he was pushed by Paul “Triple H” Levesque in NXT. During El Idolo’s time in AEW, Levesque waned in and out of power at WWE until the TKO Group Holdings merger was finalized, and he was definitely put in charge of WWE’s creative process. In WWE, El Idolo, then Andrade “Cien” Almas, became WWE NXT and United States Champion and was largely paired with The LWO’s Zelina Vega throughout his run.
El Idolo’s final AEW match took place at Worlds End, where he lost to Miro. The match was the payoff to a feud that had largely taken place on AEW Collision and was built around Miro’s real-life wife, CJ Perry, managing El Idolo.