Ever since Andrade was finally granted his release from WWE after having his initial requests turned down, attention has shifted to what comes next for the Mexican star.
The man himself recently confirmed that he isn’t bound by a 90 day non-compete clause, so is free to return to action wherever and whenever he chooses.
While it may be easy to see Andrade landing in AEW, as they already house some of the best talent in the world, alongside many ex-WWE performers, Andrade won’t be short on options. And one of those options might be Ring Of Honor.
One former WWE Superstar who may be able to sympathise with Andrade’s situation is EC3. The Ohio native enjoyed a great deal of success in IMPACT Wrestling, but his his recent stint in WWE failed to reach those heights. Following his departure from WWE in April 2020 as part of COVID-19 related budget cuts, EC3 eventually found his way to Ring Of Honor.
Speaking to Fightful, EC3 praised Andrade, saying that he would be a success in ROH, but to truly break through to the next level, he may have to make some changes.
“If he commits—he’s, obviously, a great wrestler, he’s a fantastic wrestler—I think to truly control your narrative, you have to destroy the aspects of your past and evolve. Ring of Honor’s a great breeding ground for it, if he comes in the same. It’ll be cool and it’ll provide really good matches. But, I think to be truly transcendent; he’ll have to evaluate himself from a presentation standpoint. He’s a guy that I would love to see do it. We’ve run into each other many times. Andrade was at a couple of my top 1% parties. So, we’ve talked, we’ve broken bread. By bread I mean we traded shots of tequila. A decent man. I’m excited to see what he can do,”
The former IMPACT World Champion went on to praise Andrade’s business acumen, and his lack of entitlement, in light of him appearing before the media at SummerSlam 2019 in an effort to improve his English.
“You know, that’s a rare thing. ‘Cause a lot of entitlement takes place in this industry. Another reason I want to rapture it is wrestlers don’t understand the aspect of this part of the game. Especially if you’re working for a company that’s paying you. It’s not just what you’re doing in the ring, it’s what you can present outside of it,” EC3 said. “He’s a smart businessman then.”
Andrade for his part has yet to reveal any immediate plans and it is uncertain where his future lies. However, La Sombra’s former manager in WWE Thea Trinidad, has reportedly signed a contract which will prevent her from joining AEW in the near future. The nature of her new contract is currently unknown.
After initially joining ROH in October 2020, EC3 officially signed with the company in February 2021 after overcoming COVID-19.
EC3 was most recently in action at the ROH 19th-annivaersary show, where he would lose out to Jay Briscoe.