Andrade El Idolo has claimed his first championship since leaving WWE, winning The Crash World Heavyweight Championship. In an interview with TJ Sports, he called the victory a personal milestone he had been chasing since his WWE departure.
“To win this championship from The Crash is an honor for me. It’s my first championship since leaving WWE,” Andrade said. He described The Crash as a respected promotion and expressed gratitude for the chance to compete for its top title.
He also shared his views on how wrestlers should handle relationships with former employers. “I always tell other wrestlers—don’t speak badly about companies. Companies will always remain, but we wrestlers get injured, we pass away, and wrestling continues,” he said. Andrade added that he has followed this principle throughout his career: “I’ve left most companies on good terms. I also left WWE well.”
Dispute Over AEW Exit
His remarks come after controversy surrounding his exit from All Elite Wrestling. Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that Andrade gave AEW President Tony Khan the impression he was close to re-signing, while many within AEW believed he was heading back to WWE. The report also cited disciplinary concerns and suggested Andrade always viewed AEW as secondary to WWE.
Andrade pushed back on that narrative through a post on X. Addressing Meltzer directly, he wrote: “You talk too much s–t without proof, and Sir, I’ll only tell you one thing: when my contract with AEW ended, I personally went man to man to thank MR. TONY KHAN for the opportunity to be in AEW, and that’s all I’ll tell you.”
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