More details emerge on AEW backstage fight between Andrade and Sammy Guevara

Earlier this week, more AEW backstage drama was created when Andrade told a story of Sammy Guevara complaining about being hit too hard in one of their matches. After that interview made the rounds on the internet, Sammy fired back by cursing Andrade out on Twitter, calling him a jobber and telling him to “fuck off” back to WWE like everyone knows he wants to.

Andrade responded by saying he’d see Sammy face-to-face on Wednesday at AEW’s Dynamite tapings. This led wrestling fans to wonder if a situation that appeared to be a shoot was being turned into a work.

Then last night, before the Dynamite television broadcast began, AEW President Tony Khan officially canceled Andrade’s Career vs. Mask match that was scheduled for Rampage on Friday. TMZ later broke the story that Andrade was sent home after a backstage altercation with Sammy Guevara. TMZ’s account of the situation made it sound like Sammy instigated the backstage fight. However, the fact that Andrade was sent home while Sammy remained at the taping and even scored a pin fall victory in the main event, made it clear that another side of the story was coming.

That side is now here courtesy of Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer. He said it’s true that Andrade wants out of AEW, and this incident was his way of trying to force Tony Khan’s hand to release him:

“Andrade’s trying to get fired...There’s a few people, and it’s not that many, it’s like three, that want to leave [AEW]. And Andrade is one of them.”

“Tuesday night they were talked to, both of them, and they were told no fighting. Andrade was told that...you’re not gonna get fired if you fight, but you will be sent home. And Andrade said don’t worry, nothing’s gonna happen, there’s gonna be no fighting...Sammy [said] the same thing. Nothing’s gonna happen. They had security there. Everybody was warned ahead of time.”

Meltzer went on to explain that Sammy wasn’t sent home because he didn’t fight back after Andrade threw punches:

“Andrade was waiting in the hallway. He got two punches in before it was broken up, and Sammy didn’t fight back...[Andrade] did throw two punches and then it was broken up right away, and Andrade was sent home...It was broken up immediately, people were there, and people saw it.”

So to recap, the general consensus from the people who witnessed the altercation is that:

“Andrade hit him. Sammy didn’t him. Andrade was sent home. Sammy wasn’t sent home. And Sammy didn’t do anything wrong...it was basically a blindside sucker punch.”

Meltzer acknowledged that Sammy’s tweets earlier in the week made the situation worse. AEW wasn’t asleep at the wheel, but Andrade was determined to do what he had to do to get fired by Tony Khan:

“[Guevara] was talked to, and hopefully these situations don’t happen again.”

“This was Andrade’s way out. And it’s the argument of, if a guy doesn’t want to be here, they become a cancer in the locker room.”

Meltzer also mentioned there is general unrest in the AEW locker room following the story of WWE tampering with their talent after Triple H assumed power following Vince McMahon’s resignation:

“WWE contacted all these people, and it has been incredibly successful for WWE. In the sense of, contacting people, or in some cases working through intermediaries, letting people know that they want them...and it has created incredible unrest in AEW. And that’s legit.”

If Meltzer’s understanding of this incident is accurate, then Tony Khan is now faced with a decision on whether to fire Andrade (who has multiple years remaining on his AEW contract) or pay him to stay home.

We’ll bring you more on this story as we have it, Cagesiders.