Santana made his big AEW return on Wednesday night during Dynamite after he had been sidelined with a knee injury last June in the Blood & Guts match.
The injury happened during a spot with Daniel Garcia just minutes after he entered the double cage. It was a non-contact injury.
Santana returned to reunite with his tag team partner Ortiz and aligned with the Blackpool Combat Club against Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero Miedo, Orange Cassidy & Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor) in the Stadium Stampede match at Sunday’s All In.
Santana issued the following statement regarding his return on Twitter:
“To say that I knew what the road ahead of me was going to be like when I got hurt, would be totally false. The struggles and battles I’ve overcome to get back to what I love and have dedicated my life to is unimaginable. But the most important thing was that it taught me so much about myself and made me a 10x better person than who I was.
I’m thankful that everything from the last 3 and half years happened the way they did. It needed to. Everything from losing my father, to unhappiness at work, to personal struggles, and everything in between.
I’m thankful for all those things. They forced me to face me. To look in the mirror and learn to love/appreciate the person looking back. My story will be told eventually. I just want to enjoy this moment that I’ve worked so damn hard to get to.
Thanks to EVERYONE who ever reached out. Every message from the fans. All the support from my family. Those who were there during my darkest days. I’ll forever be grateful for all of you. NOW LETS GET TO WORK!”
