TNA congratulates Mike Santana on WWE NXT debut
Mike Santana and TNA Wrestling are still on good terms despite Santana departing the company for WWE.
The former TNA World Champion made his official NXT debut last night, arriving as an eventual contender for Tony D’Angelo after D’Angelo retained the NXT Championship against Naraku in a street fight. WWE did not identify Santana by name — despite the fact that he’s already appeared on the brand through the NXT/TNA partnership — so it’s possible he’ll be getting a new name in his new wrestling home.
Following the NXT episode, TNA sent out a tweet on Wednesday congratulating Santana on his debut: “Congratulations to @Santana_Proud on his monumental debut on last night’s @WWENXT!”
Santana was a two-time World Champion for TNA, where he established himself as a singles wrestler after previously being a tag team specialist. He was one of the faces of TNA as the company debuted on AMC.
Mike Santana trademark —
When WWE holds off on identifying a wrestler, one of the typical reasons is that the company is still going through the trademark process. Santana (real name Mark Sanchez) currently has the rights to the “Mike Santana” trademark for pro wrestling purposes after filing a new application for the name this May.
Video of Santana’s NXT arrival can be seen below:
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.