Andrade's Bleak Future After WWE, Booking Sami Zayn Open Challenges, More

News of Andrade's abrupt departure from WWE shook the wrestling world over the weekend with it being less than two years since he re-signed with the promotion.

His underwhelming run seemed to be on the brink of heating up as part of his tag team with Rey Fenix, yet already he finds himself on the outs with WWE for a second time in less than five years. Returning to AEW could be out of the question as well, begging the question of what his future will entail exactly and where he'll ultimately end up.

Although SmackDown has lost an exceptionally talented member of its roster in Andrade, it recently gained one in newly-crowned United States champion Sami Zayn.

Within a matter of weeks, he's put together an incredible resume of matches with the likes of Solo Sikoa, John Cena and Rey Fenix, all with the United States Championship up for grabs. If he can sustain the momentum of the U.S. open challenges, the star-spangled prize may finally feel important again on Friday nights.

From upcoming opponents for Sami Zayn to the bigger issue at hand with Saudi Arabia hosting WrestleMania 43, these are the top takeaways from the week that was in wrestling.

Andrade's Pro Wrestling Career Is All but Over

Andrade, formerly known as La Sombra prior to signing with WWE in 2015, seemed to be a can't-miss prospect coming off his hot run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. However, it wasn't long after he debuted that rumors circulated indicating he was unhappy with his spot in NXT, which he later confirmed in an interview with Mas Lucha.

Since then, it's been quite the roller coaster for fans of the international sensation. He had glimmers of greatness during his original run with WWE, including as United States champion for a brief period, but he was largely underutilized on the main roster. Hopes were high when he arrived in AEW in 2021, but when he wasn't injured, he wasn't involved in anything out of the ordinary.

His latest return run with WWE getting cut short in under two years all but confirms that the problems lie well beyond the booking by the powers that be. Per new details regarding his exit that have emerged from Sports Illustrated, he had been suspended post-SummerSlam for violating the company's wellness policy and that he had to be escorted out of the building at a recent SmackDown taping.

Tony Khan and AEW as a whole gain nothing from bringing back Andrade, who was an afterthought the last time he was there. There's nothing to suggest a second stint would be drastically different.

El Idolo's best bet would be to primarily wrestle for CMLL, stick to the independent scene and make the occasional appearance in AEW and NJPW. If he does indeed get dissatisfied easily while working for bigger companies, then he isn't worth the risk, especially with the talent pool in both WWE and AEW being as deep as it is these days.

The Biggest Issue WWE Must Avoid with WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia

WWE announced Friday that WrestleMania 43 will emanate from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2027. The promotion has been producing semi-annual events in the country since 2018, so while it wasn't what many fans were hoping for, it was inevitable that an installment of The Show of Shows would wind up there.

The first few WWE PLEs to be held in Saudi Arabia were treated as glorified house shows and were of subpar quality. A majority of the recent Saudi shows have been solid, and WrestleMania 43 has the potential to be a memorable one for the right reasons despite the circumstances with it undoubtedly being a "best for business" type of situation for WWE.

Per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the company could be looking to stack the show with as many notable names and familiar faces as possible including The Undertaker, "Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and others.

No wrestling company does nostalgia better than WWE, yet they obsess over it such a point where it comes at the expense of the current product at times. WrestleMania 43 revolving around retired icons far past their prime accomplishes very little other than giving the audience in attendance a night they'll never forget.

WWE's creative direction could be in dire straits if this slowly starts to become the norm heading into and coming out of WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia.

Daniel Garica Joining AEW's Death Riders Is a Lateral Move

Jon Moxley losing the AEW World Championship to Adam Page in the epic main-event of July's All In pay-per-view should have marked the beginning of the end of The Death Riders, a poorly-fleshed-out heel stable that has plagued the product for the past year.

Instead, the group continues to grow with Daniel Garcia being recruited into their ranks as of last Wednesday's Dynamite.

From a storyline standpoint, it was a logical development as Garcia had been suffering several setbacks dating back to his loss of the AEW TNT Championship earlier this year. He also has history with Moxley and the rest of Death Riders, yet it's very much a lateral move career-wise.

As a heel, it's possible Garcia will feel fresh again, but there is no upward trajectory for him working with Death Riders. He peaked as TNT champ and isn't exciting enough as a performer to be taken seriously as a main-event-level threat.

Death Riders should be shedding some of its dead weight, not adding more. The same can be said for Kris Statlander, who is much better off on her own at this stage despite the teases of her joining as well.

AEW needs more must-see elements to its product to spark interest and revolving around Death Riders isn't the answers.

AJ Styles Deserves a Meaningful Final Run in WWE

AJ Styles' "shoot" promo that aired during the commercial break on last Monday's Raw sparked conversations among fans regarding not only the endgame of the angle but also his contract coming due in early 2026, per Fightful.

The Phenomenal One has been stuck in a never-ending-rivalry with The Judgment Day and El Grande Americano since returning to television at the onset of 2025. He's had a handful of fun matches with Americano, Finn Bálor and Dominik Mysterio, but he lacks long-term direction.

Perhaps whatever his "shoot" promo was supposed to be will help with that, but it's entirely plausible higher-ups have no clue what form this storyline will take and that it was merely done to drum up interest. It worked for one week, but it will quickly fizzle out if there's no consistent follow-up.

Styles has made it abundantly clear over the years that in-ring retirement is on the horizon for him, so it's imperative he be used in a meaningful manner for however much time he has left, whether that be in WWE, AEW or somewhere else.

He's been a bit of a background player for too long and should be slotted higher up on the card in the final few months of his current contract, culminating in a prominent match on the WrestleMania 42 card if he's still around by then.

Otherwise, a quick stint in AEW where he can close out his celebrated career on his terms might be the better course of action.

Projecting Best Possible Opponents for Sami Zayn's U.S. Open Challenges

The United States Championship has been a pointless prop on SmackDown since Shinsuke Nakamura dethroned LA Knight at Survivor Series 2024. His reign was abysmally bad, Knight's second stint with it was brief and forgettable, Jacob Fatu didn't hold the gold for very long either and Solo Sikoa's reign was horribly handled.

Transitioning the title over to Sami Zayn was the correct call. He's credible, an excellent worker and over with the audience. Additionally, he was the perfect person to reinstate John Cena's classic U.S. open challenges, as seen in his above-average outings with Rey Fenix and Cena himself in the last two weeks.

It's already been announced that Carmelo Hayes is next in line to challenge Zayn for the star-spangled prize on the Sept. 19 edition of SmackDown, but beyond Hayes, there is no shortage of exciting opponents for Zayn as champ in the weeks and months ahead.

Montez Ford could desperately use another opportunity to showcase his skills as a singles star, Johnny Gargano would surely have amazing chemistry with Zayn, and Santos Escobar has been absent from the midcard scene for many months.

Down the road, Damian Priest and Aleister Black will want back into the mix once they wrap up their rivalry, and there's always the chance a new name from NXT answers the call and impresses in their debut.

Sikoa revealed on SmackDown that he intends to reclaim the belt before long, but even after WWE gets the Sikoa vs. Zayn rematch out of the way with Zayn retaining, there's no reason to cut Zayn's potentially-electric reign short anytime soon.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.