"Had a heart attack", "I didn't know it happened" - Andrade on six-time WWE champion's health scare (EXCLUSIVE)

Andrade has opened up on a six-time WWE champion's health scare. The former U.S. champion was released by the Stamford-based promotion in September this year, and he is now looking forward to competing this weekend.

This is the second time Andrade has been let go by the promotion. After his first exit in 2021, he competed in Lucha Libre AAA and AEW. During this period he also became a part of history. He teamed up with Ric Flair in his last match as the duo took on Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett on a special pay-per-view.

The match became infamous after it was revealed that the Nature Boy suffered a heart attack during the contest. Talking exclusively to Sportskeeda's Riju Dasgupta, Andrade revealed that he was unaware that Flair had a heart attack in the ring but did say he was scared before the match.

“I didn’t know. I know now because I think he said in an interview. I didn’t know [at the time]. When my ex [Charlotte Flair] told me about ‘Hey, what do you think about my dad’s last match?’ I was excited. Everybody knows about Ric Flair, and I couldn’t imagine being in his last match. So when I had this opportunity, I wanted to take it, but at the moment, I was scared. I was scared because in my mind, I knew Ric Flair was in the best shape and he was amazing, but in my mind I was like, what if something happens? What do you do? What do you say? I was scared. So it happened; the match was done. He was fine; he was happy. He was talking to everybody. But later he said he had a heart attack, I didn’t know it happened,” he said.

You can watch the interview below:

Flair's performance in the match was deemed uncomfortable due to his poor physical health at that time, and passed out twice during the match. An NWA legend, Flair won six championships in WWE, which included two World Title wins, three Tag Team Title victories, and an Intercontinental championship.

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Andrade set to return to the ring after WWE release

Following his WWE release, Andrade showed up at AEW. However, it turned out that he was still bound by a non-compete clause that would prevent him from wrestling elsewhere for 12 months.

Now, during the exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, he confirmed that he is set to return to the ring this Saturday in Puerto Rico for WWC Lookout.

He said it was possible after his lawyers and WWE struck a deal allowing him to compete despite the clause. The former AEW star will take on Xavant for the Universal Heavyweight Championship at the event.