Bischoff isn’t sure if the legal costs are worth it regarding Andrade and AEW.
Andrade has been absent from All Elite Wrestling since his return to the promotion on October 1, with multiple reports citing a potential breach of a previously undisclosed non-compete clause following his WWE departure. PWInsider Elite recently reported that WWE could keep Andrade out of action contractually for up to one year, though it remains to be seen whether AEW will challenge this legally.
Weighing in on the situation on his 83 Days podcast, former WCW Executive Producer and Senior Vice President Eric Bischoff questioned how Andrade’s initial return was permitted to take place.
“I’ve been on the other I’ve been on both sides of it. — every jurisdiction is different. For example, good luck enforcing a non-competing California. Good luck, Florida. Good luck, Alabama. Try to force that shit — it really comes down to do you have the money and the time to challenge it? If you do, you’ll probably win. You’ll burn a bridge in the process, and you’ll blow probably 150 to 250 grand in the process — Most people aren’t willing to fight it. They’ll just ride it out, but it’ll get challenged eventually. How did he end up on TV, if he was under contract and had a non-compete from the AEW side? How does that even happen? I mean, I can understand Andrade not necessarily being fluent in contract language, right? I can understand how the talent might have gotten confused. — you still have the AEW side. I mean, they’ve got a responsibility to vet this, knowing that he was previously under contract, and knowing that previously, WWE was very strict about their noncompetes. That’s the part that makes me go, ‘how the hell did that happen?’ — Yeah, there’s tortious interference, there’s all kinds of perpetual shift that actually costs, you know, three times more. …So it is a serious issue, and one that is surprising to be, to be honest, from an AEW perspective.”
-Eric Bischoff
Bischoff later speculated on whether Tony Khan would challenge WWE over the non-compete clause, with many fans on social media also questioning the legality of the situation.
The WWE Hall of Famer stated that he finds the situation fascinating, adding that any potential legal battle would likely require more time and money than the reward would justify.
“I think, in addition to the money…he’s gonna have to sit through depositions and discovery. Tony Khan does not want to sit through discovery or depositions. It’s even if you can afford it, it’s a time suck. …I just can’t imagine it would be worth it to him. …This is not a guy that you’re going to spend half a million dollars in legal fees fighting for. You know what? I would be fascinated by that. …it would end up creating a precedent. It would end up changing the way the business operates, potentially or potentially Tony get his ass kicked, to just walk away with an empty basket of an empty fruit basket. …I’ll be watching it closely, because it’ll be very impactful.”
-Eric Bischoff
With reports indicating that Andrade’s WWE departure stemmed from multiple wellness policy violations, many initially assumed the former NXT Champion wouldn’t be subject to a standard non-compete clause due to the nature of his contract termination. However, it has since been reported that WWE took measures to ensure any potential loopholes were closed. You can read more about that here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the status of Andrade’s non-compete clause as soon as we hear more.
H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
