Mike Santana WWE Debut Plans

WWE

At TNA Slammiversary 2026, Nic Nemeth (formerly Dolph Ziggler in WWE) defeated Mike Santana to win the TNA World Championship.

Following this loss, reports started to circulate that Santana would be finishing up with TNA Wrestling and becoming a free agent.

Now that he could be heading elsewhere, this has led to a ton of speculation that Santana will be signing with WWE after making several appearances with the company in the working relationship with TNA.

Here are seven potential Mike Santana WWE debut plans.

7. Big Free Agent Signing To NXT Introduction

WWE NXT has been home to several different arriving stars in recent years that look to first make their name on the brand upon signing with the company.

From Ethan Page and Ricky Saints to Blake Monroe and Mason Rook – and even Nikki Blackheart just last night – these free agents have immediately introduced themselves in memorable ways in their first appearance with WWE.

The big free agent signing introduction has become somewhat of a staple of NXT that dates back to the 2010s when the brand was used to debut some of the top names from around the world.

Joining the likes of Finn Balor, Kevin Owens and Shinsuke Nakamura, Mike Santana could receive a huge arrival on WWE NXT and become an instant top star in the company.

6. Join Forces With OTM

On the March 31 edition of WWE NXT, Mike Santana returned to the brand to team with OTM to defeat DarkState in a six-man tag team match.

Santana and OTM have similar characteristics and made for a formable trio that showed some cohesiveness in the squared circle.

If Santana signs with WWE, it would make sense if the company wants to continue this partnership with Bronco Nima and Lucien Price in NXT.

Forming what could be an intimidating and daunting unit, Santana and OTM could become one of the most dominant factions NXT has seen in a long time.

5. Help Saquon Shugars In Rivalry With DarkState

At WWE Great American Bash 2026, Saquon Shugars defeated Dion Lennox of DarkState in a grudge match.

After the win, Shugars was jumped by DarkState’s Osiris Griffin and Cutler James in what became a three-on-one assault with Lennox.

With Lennox, James and Griffin standing tall at the PLE, it would make sense if Shugars has to come back with a different gameplan.

Saquon Shugars recruiting someone who has had a similar upbringing and background to him like Mike Santana would be interesting and seems like a great way to introduce the former TNA World Champion as a prominent character on WWE NXT.

4. Challenge Dominik Mysterio For The AAA Mega Championship

In 2025, WWE acquired Lucha Libre AAA, bringing one of the top Mexican promotions under their ownership and control.

Since then, Dominik Mysterio has held the AAA Mega Championship for over nine months at the time of this writing.

The company has also sent several Hispanic members of the WWE roster over to AAA to fill out the roster and have a more premier spot on the brand’s programming.

Mike Santana would be a huge addition to the AAA roster and feels like the kind of star that could immediately challenge ‘Dirty Dom’ for the AAA Mega Championship upon his arrival.

3. Join Los Perros Del Mal

Speaking of signing with WWE AAA, the brand has been focused on the story developing around Los Perros Del Mal.

On the June 20 edition of AAA on FOX, Los Perros Del Mal made their return with original stablemate Daga as well as new members Angel, Berto, Karmen Petrovic and Bronco Nima in an attack on El Grande Americano.

After making an enemy out of one of the most popular stars in Mexico, Los Perros Del Mal may need some more backup and might want to add another name to the ranks.

Looking at his history with LAX, Mike Santana could immediately become a major star on AAA as part of Los Perros Del Mal, fitting the look and ethos of the group.

2. Accept Penta Open Challenge For The WWE Intercontinental Championship

Since winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship from Dominik Mysterio in March, Penta has been a fighting champion and accepted any challenge put in front of him.

The former AEW star has scored wins over the likes of Rey Mysterio, Ethan Page, Dragon Lee and Je’Von Evans in recent months.

Along the way, Penta has even held open challenges for the IC Title, looking to give an opportunity to anyone on the WWE roster.

However, Penta having another open challenge might see someone from outside of the company making their way in as a free agent signing and could be someone he has a ton of history with like Mike Santana.

1. Align With Damian Priest In A New Heel Tag Team

Mike Santana has long been someone who has had a strong attention to detail when it comes to representing Puerto Rican culture in his look and character.

Someone else of Puerto Rican descent who represents with his gear and other elements of his act is Damian Priest.

In recent weeks, WWE Tag Team Champions Priest and R-Truth have had some minor differences when it comes to who to trust and who Truth is friends with.

Mike Santana signing with WWE and coming into SmackDown could see him become the devil of Priest’s shoulders who relates to him in a way Truth cannot and leads to their eventual split as well as a new heel tag team forming.

To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, follow us on Threads by clicking this link!

• wwe
• Mike Santana

Share this article with friends