WWE officially replaces Andrade with an 8-time champion

Andrade's WWE career came to an end recently as the star controversially left the company a few weeks back. His replacement was revealed on SmackDown last night, where Shinsuke Nakamura joined forces with the Mexican's former tag team partner, Rey Fenix.

Andrade began teaming up with Rey Fenix shortly after the latter made his WWE debut. The duo were reportedly poised to win the tag team titles, but the former NXT Champion's run with the company abruptly came to an end. He showed up in AEW a few weeks ago, but complexities regarding his non-compete has led to his absence from Tony Khan's company as well.

Meanwhile, Rey Fenix found himself a new tag team partner on SmackDown last night, where he teamed up with Shinsuke Nakamura to take on JC Mateo and Tama Tonga. However, Fenix did not enjoy similar success with Nakamura as he did with Andrade. The Luchador and the King of Strong Style were on the losing end of their match against the MFT duo.

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Andrade reportedly not factored into any of WWE's plans

Andrade has been the talk of the town since leaving World Wrestling Entertainment on a controversial note last month. He officially departed the company on September 13, with reports stating that he was fired by due to numerous Wellness violations over the last year.

The 35-year-old showed up in AEW just a couple of weeks later as he attacked Kenny Omega and joined The Don Callis Family. However, he has not been seen in AEW since then, with reports stating that he has a one-year non-compete with WWE, and thus cannot work for Tony Khan's promotion.

Interestingly, rumor suggested that the Stamford-based promotion could take advantage of the one-year non-compete and bring the Mexican back. However, Fightful Select recently debunked the report, noting that the former NXT Champion is currently not factored into any of WWE's plans.

Meanwhile, the 35-year-old has maintained his silence regarding the situation. Tony Khan also did not comment much on the situation during a recent interview.

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Edited by Vivek Sharma