AEW: Update on Andrade El Idolo’s AEW Departure, MJF Reportedly Taking Time Off for Injury Heal, Battle of the Belts IX Date Revealed

More on Andrade El Idolo’s Expected Departure from AEW & Return to WWE

As noted before, Andrade El Idolo is currently expected to be leaving AEW following last night’s AEW Worlds End event. During the post-show media scrum, AEW CEO Tony Khan confirmed that Andrade’s contract with AEW would expire at the end of 2023.

Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that Andrade had made it clear to AEW officials backstage at this past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite show that he no longer wanted to be with the company and was planning to leave. This backstage situation reportedly was described as to be “less than pleasant” with several people stating that “a major disagreement had unfolded.”

Those spoken to within WWE reportedly stated that they had been expecting his contract with AEW to expire in Spring of 2024 and were not under the belief that he would be leaving “imminently” unlike the current feeling within AEW. It was reported that those spoken to within AEW and WWE both currently expect that Andrade will return to WWE at some point.

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MJF Reportedly Taking Time Off from AEW Following Worlds End Event

MJF reportedly is currently expected to be taking some time off from AEW following last night’s AEW Worlds End event, according to Fightful Select.

It was reported that those spoken to stated that despite dealing with several injuries throughout his AEW World title reign, MJF had insisted to AEW officials on working his scheduled dates and defending his title until their storyline plans for him dictated otherwise. It was also reported that MJF could decide to walk back on his current plans and continue working in an on-screen role while he recovers but the current expectation within the company is that MJF will be away for some time.

In regards to MJF’s current contract status with AEW, it was reported that those spoken to within WWE stated that WWE officials have not held any conversations with MJF. WWE officials reportedly have been under the belief that MJF had signed a new deal with AEW well over a year ago and all of his bidding war talk is just storyline stuff from his character.

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AEW Battle of the Belts IX Special Scheduled for This January

AEW’s next Battle of the Belts special, Battle of the Belts IX, is currently scheduled to take place on January 13, 2024 based on a recent programming schedule update on TNT’s website.

This upcoming special is currently listed to be airing starting at 10PM EST following that night’s AEW Collision show on the network.