For the first time in over a decade, Andrade El Idolo will be back in New Japan next month.
Andrade appeared in a video clip as part of Monday’s NJPW Road To Tokyo Dome show in Korakuen Hall, announcing that he will make his return to the promotion at Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4.
More specifically, it seems that Andrade will be joining in on a five-on-five tag match, which sees United Empire members face off against a collection of Bullet Club and former Los Ingobernables de Japon wrestlers.
The new business backer for United Empire is none other than @andradeelidolo!
And he’ll be on the UE side at Wrestle Kingdom!!#njpw #njwk20 pic.twitter.com/PfJbo7bEQ2
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) December 22, 2025
If confirmed for the match, Andrade El Idolo team with Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman, and Henare to face David Finlay, Shingo Takagi, Gabe Kidd, Drilla Moloney, and Hiromu Takahashi. A final mystery wrestler for the United Empire team has yet to be revealed.
Andrade’s last NJPW appearance pre-dates either of his WWE stints. He previously wrestled for the company back in 2015, representing CMLL as La Sombra on a Fantastica Mania tour.
Andrade has made one-off appearances since departing the WWE roster earlier this year. In October, he won The Crash Heavyweight Championship in Mexico. Earlier this month, he appeared in Puerto Rico to win the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship.
The 36-year-old returned to AEW earlier this year, aligning with the Don Callis Family in October after attacking Kenny Omega. However, it has since been reported that contractual complications tied to a non-compete from Andrade’s last WWE deal have forced him off TV since then.
Andrade made an appearance at House of Glory in New York last weekend, attacking champion Charles Mason.
