Andrade, Kushida, Shane Strickland and Ilja Dragunov in the Jan. 18 WWE Roundup

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe. 

Andrade Warns Wrestlers Against Joining WWE?

Andrade appears to be on the rise as a member of the SmackDown Live roster, but he reportedly hasn't been an advocate for WWE when it comes to recruiting new talent.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Andrade told fellow Mexican wrestlers Rush and Dragon Lee that WWE "isn't what it's cracked up to be."

Andrade was a big star in Mexico and Japan before signing with WWE, but he had a rocky beginning to his tenure in NXT.

He was eventually paired with Zelina Vega, which led to him becoming one of NXT's top stars and eventually winning the NXT Championship.

He has gotten lost in the shuffle to some degree since getting called up to the main roster, but he put on a great match against Rey Mysterio on Tuesday's episode of SmackDown and picked up the win.

That suggests he may be in line for a push, but Andrade apparently has some reservations about the company given the ups and downs he has experienced.

Reasoning for Kushida Possibly Joining WWE

New Japan Pro Wrestling star Kushida is reportedly set to join WWE's NXT brand when his New Japan contract expires on Jan. 31.

According to Meltzer (h/t Daniel Yanofsky of Wrestling Inc.), Kushida decided to leave New Japan for WWE after his idea to turn heel and join the Bullet Club was shot down by booker Gedo.

Kushida dropped the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Taiji Ishimori at Wrestle Kingdom this month and later announced that he was moving on from New Japan.

While Kushida is a top-flight talent, he seemed to be pigeonholed in NJPW as a junior heavyweight, as he rarely received opportunities to move up the card.

It is unclear if things will be different should he sign with WWE, but NXT has a stacked talent roster that will allow him to be part of many fresh matchups if nothing else.

Strickland, Dragunov Reportedly Set to Sign with WWE

Two top independent wrestling stars in the form of Shane Strickland and Ilja Dragunov are reportedly expected to sign with WWE soon.

Per Meltzer (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc.), Strickland is likely to sign with WWE after recently confirming that he is a free agent.

Strickland had been a top star for Major League Wrestling, and he was also a major part of Lucha Underground under the Killshot gimmick.

Meanwhile, Dragunov is in line to join WWE after recently impressing at tryouts in Germany and the United Kingdom.

Meltzer noted that Dragunov is expected to be utilized as a top star on the NXT UK brand.

There are no reported plans for Strickland, but he could be a good fit in NXT or perhaps as a top guy on 205 Live since it recently moved back to airing live on WWE Network on Tuesday nights.    

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).