David Otunga Says Andrade’s 1-Year Non-Compete Wouldn’t Hold Up in Court

Over a month ago, in September, WWE released Andrade. The 35-year-old wrestler had made his WWE return in 2024, after a two-year-long stint in Tony Khan’s All Elite Wrestling.

There were many rumors surrounding his release initially. It was later clarified that WWE didn’t release him as part of their budget cuts, but rather due to a breach of contract. One report said that Andrade had failed WWE’s company-wide Talent Wellness Policy and was suspended as a result. But something happened behind the scenes and WWE let him go as a result.

Andrade quickly returned to AEW, showing up on the October 1 episode of Dynamite. He was a hot topic in the world of wrestling, and everyone expected AEW to capitalize on Andrade’s momentum. However, he hasn’t really done anything since his initial return. Fans were wondering what was happening, and it was later revealed that Andrade was under a non-compete clause as per his WWE contract and may not be able to work for a year.

To make things worse, he isn’t getting paid for this non-compete since this happened due a breach of contract. A lot of fans are criticizing WWE for this, and many say this wouldn’t hold up in court, including former WWE wrestler David Otunga.

David Otunga Believes A Judge Would Rule In Andrade’s Favor If He Chooses To Challenge WWE’s Non-compete Clause

Shared Account, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

David Otunga started by saying that while WWE can have a one-year non-compete clause in their contracts, if it’s challenged in court, a judge is likely to rule it invalid.

It’s because WWE is not compensating Andrade for a year. He’ll essentially have to sit out and live without an income until the non-compete runs out. And it’s hard to enforce such a clause legally.

If Andrade takes matters to court, Otunga believes “a judge is very likely to rule in his favor and just throw out the entire clause in the contract.” He said:

“Under this non-compete clause, technically, a talent could sign a contract, WWE could turn around the next day and fire them for no cause, and then say, ‘Hey, we’re not going to pay you for one year and you can’t wrestle anywhere else for one year.’ This is in the contract. This would be enforceable, presuming this contract is valid.

They don’t want talent to take them to court and challenge this because a judge would likely rule this invalid. The fact that you’re preventing somebody from working to support themselves in their given field for an entire year and you’re not compensating them… I don’t know how they could enforce this.” (H/T Wrestlepurists)

You can watch his YouTube video on this below:

For those who are wondering if Otunga has any credibility on this matter, he’s a Harvard Law School graduate and knows more about contracts than most people.

Tony Khan recently talked about Andrade’s absence from WWE, but didn’t reveal anything significant, other than saying he’s “very excited to see what happens next with Andrade.”

Main image credit: Miguel Discart, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons