AEW Star Fires Back At Former Tag Team Partner After Split
One half a popular AEW tag team has reacted to the emotional message shared by his now former partner.
When AEW launched in 2019, one of the top tag teams in the company was the duo known as Santana & Ortiz. They were immediately put into the Inner Circle group with Chris Jericho, Jake Hager and Sammy Guevara, so they were featured prominently for a few years.
While Ortiz & Santana were featured a lot in AEW, they never became Tag Team Champions together.
In June 2022, Santana suffered a torn ACL in the Blood & Guts match, which caused him to miss over one year of action. There were also reports that he had issues with his partner Ortiz and they were no longer friends.
Santana & Ortiz did team up with the Blackpool Combat Club in the chaotic Stadium Stampede match at AEW All In London, but they haven’t been aligned since then.
On last night’s edition of AEW Rampage, a promo video was shown featuring Mike Santana talking about how he was going to be on his own in AEW.
“There comes a time in everyone’s life where you reach a fork in the road. When you get there, there’s decisions that need to me made in order to proceed in the right direction. Some roads are easy and lead to mediocrity and comfortability. Some roads come with new challenges and force you to grow.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned through this process, it’s that you can’t depend on anyone to have the same passion or drive. Or hell, to even have your back the same way that you would. With that being said, the world has been asking all these questions. Now, the world is about to get all the answers. The road I’ve chosen to take is one that must be taken on my own. No crutch, no crew.
“All I’ve done my entire life is bet on myself. I’ll tell you this, I’m not here to be another guy in the game. I’m here to be the game. I know I’m gonna piss a lot of people off, but you ask me if I give a damn. I ain’t here to make friends. I’m here to make money. If you ain’t down, you’re gonna get run down. The nastiest is yet to come.”
Ortiz Reacts to Former AEW Tag Team Partner
On Twitter/X, Ortiz had his own thoughts on what Santana said. Ortiz thanked Santana for being honest while making it clear that Santana could say it to his face.
What a way to find out years of having your back meant nothing.Good luck without your "crutch" Just remember it helped you walk for the last 14+ years. Hope your legs are good. Thank you for being honest for once. But you couldn't say it to my face?You know you still can, right? https://t.co/KWrXLiCDe1pic.twitter.com/qKBWlqQJvq
— Proud~N~Powerful Ortiz (@Ortiz_Powerful) September 9, 2023
It will be interesting to see if AEW will have the former partners feud or if they will have something else planned for them.