Mike Santana breaks silence after his AEW release
Former Inner Circle member Mike Santana recently asked for his release from AEW, which was granted. After parting ways with the Jacksonville-based promotion, Santana has finally broken his silence.
Mike Santana was an instrumental part of All Elite Wrestling during its early stages. As part of The Inner Circle, Santana participated in many feuds with his partner Ortiz. Fans still talk about their parking lot brawl with the Best Friends.
Unfortunately for Santana, things didn't work out well, and he didn't have anything worthwhile to do on television. After being kept off TV for the better part of the last few months, Santana was finally granted his release from the company.
Following his departure, the former AEW star took to social media to pen a heartfelt and inspiring note for the fans:
"It's been 5 years full of ups and downs, but above all it taught me so much about myself and this business. I'm thankful for the opportunity I was given to be a part of history at the ground level. I can say that lIl forever be a part of that legacy right at day one."
He continued:
"But as you know, there comes a time in life where you have to make decisions and take a bet on yourself. We only get one chance at this life thing and life is about taking risks. You'll never know your true potential unless you really put it to work. I'm a big believer in "When one door closes, a bigger door opens" and im so excited for what the future holds for me," excerpt from Santana's message.
WWE were interested in signing Mike Santana and Ortiz back in 2019
Santana and Ortiz were a popular tag team on the independent scene for a while before signing with AEW. In fact, before they could sign with Tony Khan's promotion, WWE was very interested in bringing them into NXT.
During a recent episode of the Shining Wizard Wrestling podcast, Ortiz revealed that WWE made them a very appealing offer that made it hard to choose AEW:
“Impact definitely wanted to keep us. WWE was an option at that time. It really went back and forth with us and it made our decision really hard. They made it very appealing and we would’ve gone over for ‘NXT. They were making it really appealing and hard for us to actually choose AEW."
In the end, Mike Santana and Ortiz ended up choosing AEW over WWE and had a pretty decent run as a tag team.
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