Mike Santana turned up on the July 21 episode of NXT, confronting champion Tony D’Angelo moments after his Street Fight win. Matt Hardy, who worked alongside him in TNA, says the arrival is the payoff for a decision most wrestlers would not have made.
Speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, Hardy said Santana had been open about the goal.
“I was very happy for Mike. I know Mike’s goal was to be in WWE when it was all said and done, and he’s made it there,” Hardy said. “He just worked very hard. He worked so hard.”
The part Hardy keeps coming back to is that Santana walked away from money to get there. Santana left AEW in 2024 and returned to TNA, where he became a two-time TNA World Champion before his contract expired this month.
“He was so passionate. I’m very proud of him, because he wasn’t happy with what he was doing there,” Hardy said. “Even though he could have stayed there and made money, he chose to leave and make less money, but get the opportunity to build himself into a star. And that’s what he did. He went to TNA and he had a hell of a run there. He did really well for himself. He really put a lot of equity into his name and his brand, and he got that job at WWE.”
Hardy also backed the decision to start him in NXT rather than on the main roster.
“At NXT, he’ll be able to continue to build his WWE equity for whenever he does go to the main roster,” Hardy said. “I feel like if he started on the main roster, it would be hard for him to be looked at as valuable. There he can really build his name, build his equity, build his worth.”
The praise was personal as well as professional.
“I’m really excited to follow his journey. I like Mike a lot. I think he’s a survivor. I’m very proud of his journey,” Hardy said. “I’m very proud of his relationship with his daughter. We always had a great bond whenever we come to talk about our kids and how much we love them, and especially our girls. I’m excited to see what he ends up doing.”
Santana had been the heavy favorite to land in WWE since his TNA deal lapsed, having wrestled his final match for the promotion at Slammiversary in June, where he dropped the TNA World Championship to Nic Nemeth.
