WWE Insiders Expect Ex-SmackDown Star To Join AEW
Ex-WWE SmackDown star Santos Escobar might join AEW soon.
Escobar joined WWE in August 2019 and debuted on NXT in February 2020 under the ring name El Hijo del Fantasma before rebranding as Santos Escobar. During his tenure, he achieved significant milestones, including winning the NXT Cruiserweight Championship once and leading the stable Legado Del Fantasma.
Escobar was known for his strong in-ring skills and charismatic heel persona. He also participated in prominent storylines involving the Latino World Order and feuds against stars like Rey Mysterio. Escobar was promoted to the main roster in 2022 and competed on SmackDown alongside his group.
His WWE contract officially expired at midnight on October 6, 2025. The Stamford-based promotion reportedly made efforts to re-sign him, including offering a raise, but negotiations fell through as Escobar declined the renewal, making him.
WWE Knew Santos Escobar Would Leave Following Contract Expiration
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed Escobar’s WWE exit on the October 7 episode of Wrestling Observer Newsletter. They stated that unless he signed a last-minute deal with the company, he is officially a free agent eligible to sign with any promotion. It was also stated that many insiders expect him to leave the Stamford-based company and perhaps join Tony Khan’s AEW soon.
“Unless he signed. Yeah, unless he signed, you know, unless he signed at the last minute, he’s done. They’ve been expecting him to leave for some time. They obviously took him away from Angel and Berto for that very reason—not expecting him to stay. And yeah, he’s gone.”
“And I do know people there—it’s multiple people there—who expect him to go to AEW. I don’t know if he does or he doesn’t. He’s 41 years old. You know, I don’t know. Some people they take, some people they don’t.”
Escobar’s last match on WWE TV was on the May 5 edition of SmackDown, where he suffered a loss to Rey Fenix. His overall final match in WWE was on July 27 at a house show in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, where he and his Legado del Fantasma teammates, Angel and Berto, lost a match against Mr. Iguana, Pagano & Psycho Clown.