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WWE Scrapped Major Plans For 41-Year-Old Former Champion

By Monika Thapa • Published Oct 13, 2025 20:30 EDT

41-year-old former NXT Cruiserweight Champion is back in WWE.

Santos Escobar’s contract officially ended at midnight on October 7, 2025, marking the end of his six-year run with the company. At the time, he chose not to renew the contract due to dissatisfaction with the creative direction and the initial salary offer. His profile was also moved to the alumni section, signaling his departure from the company.

However, just within 48 hours, Escobar re-signed with WWE following negotiations where the company addressed his creative concerns and offered him a significantly better deal, including a much higher salary.

WWE Star Santos Escobar Was Supposed To Beat El Hijo del Vikingo for the AAA Mega Championship

Before his contract expired, there were big creative plans put in place for Santos Escobar involving WWE’s affiliated Mexican promotion, AAA. According to reports by BodySlam.net, Escobar was scheduled to defeat El Hijo del Vikingo for the AAA Mega Championship as part of a major push to elevate his status within the new WWE-AAA shared structure.

Alongside him, his stablemates Angel and Humberto, known collectively as Los Garza, were poised to capture the AAA World Tag Team Titles. This storyline was meant to reestablish their dominance under WWE’s recent full acquisition of AAA, painting a picture of Escobar’s rising star in the expanded wrestling landscape.

However, once Escobar declined to renew his WWE contract, these creative plans were abruptly shelved before they could be fully executed on TV. Dominik Mysterio ended up winning the AAA Mega Championship instead, shifting the focus away from Escobar’s push.

Now that Escobar has returned to the Stamford-based promotion, it remains unclear if the company will revive these booking ideas or take a different creative path with him moving forward. Title shot or no, Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez believes Escobar will surely get a huge push in WWE.

Maybe he will… but historically, I can’t think of one person… making that kind of money that’s sitting around in catering, so I think you’re going to see a lot more of Santos Escobar. [H/T: Cageside Seats]