Mike Santana reveals motivation behind new WWE NXT name
There is a personal meaning behind Mike Santana’s new WWE name.
During a promo on Monday hyping his appearance on the next episode of NXT, Santana revealed that going forward, he would be known as Cruz Montana. In a social media post, Santana revealed the motivation behind the name.
“CRUZ MONTANA. A name I put together as a tribute to honor my late father. Who I’ve always made sure to keep as close as possible to my journey,” he wrote. “Losing him 6 years ago, is what sent me on the spiral that I’d eventually rise from, to become the man you see today. And today, that man ADDICTED TO GREATNESS. Here’s to this next chapter. LETS GET IT!”
A new face in NXT
Santana made his first appearance as a WWE-signed wrestler on last week’s NXT, staring down Tony D’Angelo following his successful title defense against Naraku. The announce team went out of their way not to identify him by name, and neither did WWE’s social media team, indicating that the former TNA World Champion who had been seen multiple times on NXT television in the past would be getting a new name.
Bryan Rose is an editor from California that has been covering professional wrestling for well over a decade. He officially joined F4WOnline as an editor in 2017.