Santos Escobar breaks character; claims 28-year-old SmackDown Superstar is going to be a huge star
WWE SmackDown Superstar Santos Escobar recently broke character and claimed that a fellow blue brand performer is going to be a huge star.
The name in question is Dragon Lee. The high-flying Luchador defeated Dominik Mysterio to win the NXT North American Championship at NXT Deadline. It was the SmackDown Superstar's first-ever title win in WWE.
The former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion recently shared the ring with Santos Escobar. The former LWO member shocked the entire WWE Universe when he brutally attacked their leader, Rey Mysterio following Crown Jewel. This led to the announcement of a singles match between Escobar and Carlito at WWE Survivor Series: WarGames. The latter, however, got injured before the event and was replaced by Dragon Lee.
The two SmackDown Superstars put on a great show at the Chicago premium live event, with Escobar scoring the eventual win. They locked horns once again on an episode of the Friday night show as a part of the United States Championship tournament, as Santos Escobar scored another win over Dragon Lee.
Escobar recently made an appearance on Wrestling With Freddie. On being asked which WWE Superstar stands out to him currently, the 39-year-old named Dragon Lee as his pick. He praised Lee and stated that the latter would become a huge star. Escobar also talked about his match against the North American Champion:
"Dragon Lee is going to be a big star. It's pretty obvious that he's got something going on. He's been on the main roster for less than two months. He already had his first one-on-one at a premium live event. (We have) crazy chemistry. Triple H said it in the press conference after. Two lucha guys that bring more than just being two lucha guys. That's what I wanted. That was my vision. I know the urge is there, you have 12 to 15 minutes, to go out and just do crazy stuff, but the truth is, if you stay lucha, you stay lucha," he said. [H/T: Fightful]
SmackDown Superstar Santos Escobar further talked about his willingness to evolve his style so that people can connect with him:
"I want to create a hybrid, much like we did with Lucha Underground and other places. Try to bring my style with the American style, so anyone that watches the show will connect and understand what I'm trying to do. Also, because I want to work with Randy [Randy Orton], I want to work with Roman [Roman Reigns], I want to work with everyone out there. Keeping myself in a box is not going to help me. I needed to portray this and share this vision. Dragon Lee, he got it," he said. [H/T: Fightful]
Santos Escobar taking on Bobby Lashley to feature on SmackDown tonight
The upcoming edition of SmackDown was pre-taped on December 15. The show, airing tonight, will feature a match between Santos Escobar and Bobby Lashley as part of the United States Championship Tournament. The winner will advance to the final.
Elsewhere, the other semi-final features Kevin Owens and NXT Superstar Carmelo Hayes. It will be interesting to see which two superstars advance to the final round of the tournament. Dragon Lee will also be in action on this week's episode of SmackDown as he defends his NXT North American Championship against Butch.
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