Possible Friction Between AEW Tag Team
AEW fans have begun noticing signs of real-life heat between Santana & Ortiz, with speculation mounting that Santana could leave the company in the near future.
Santana & Ortiz first teamed up together on the independent scene as EYFBO back in 2012. They later signed with IMPACT Wrestling in 2017 and joined the popular LAX faction. While there, they became four-time IMPACT Tag Team Champions, establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
The pair signed with AEW in 2019 and made their debut at that year’s All Out, joining the Chris Jericho-led Inner Circle. The two went on to take part in some of the biggest matches in AEW’s early days, including both Stadium Stampedes and the inaugural Blood & Guts match.
After the Inner Circle collapsed earlier in 2022, they joined up with Eddie Kingston to take on their former leader and his new group, the Jericho Appreciation Society. Most recently, they teamed with Blackpool Combat Club to defeat the JAS in the second-ever Blood & Guts bout.
However, in recent weeks, there has been speculation that there is tension in the team.
When asked his thoughts on the situation, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp noted that Santana & Ortiz have not had a two-on-two tag match for some time with the most recent bout taking place back in February when they defeated Chris Jericho and Jake Hager on an episode of Dynamite. Additionally, Santana has recently been taking bookings on his own without Ortiz in independent promotions.
Santana has also caused a stir on social media. In April, he tweeted “126 days”, which many have taken to be how long he had left on his contract, and just a few days ago he cryptically tweeted the word “soon”.
https://twitter.com/Santana_Proud/status/1541513018395312128
On June 29th, during the Blood & Guts match, Santana appeared to suffer an injury to his leg when performing an uranage at the beginning of the bout. While there has been no official word on his condition, one doctor who examined him is said to believe it could be “very very bad.”