Mike Santana Discusses Being Too 'Comfortable' In AEW, Joining TNA

Mike Santana parted ways with AEW this year, ending an almost five-year run with the promotion. Since then, he's signed with TNA, making his return during the Rebellion pay-per-view. In a recent appearance on "Busted Open Radio," Santana opened up about what led to him leaving AEW.

"It felt like we were in a hamster wheel just doing the same thing; the same thing that we were doing since coming in," Santana explained. "And it was like, okay, this is cool stuff, it – you know – we were in a pretty decent spot, but it's like, all right, what's next?" According to Santana, wrestlers have to be mindful about the time they have left.

"We have a timetable," he continued, "we have a timeline for how long we can do this and it's up to us to take full advantage of the years that we have, you know?" He also claimed that he didn't want to be another person sitting around collecting a check.

Mike Santana recently had a documentary about his career so far, and he noted how difficult it was for him to open up in the interview and how this led to his battle with addiction years later. Santana then noted how he's been clean since learning how to express himself in healthy ways.  The former LAX member hopes he put his heart and soul into the documentary, and how he hopes that it will show people what he stands for after they know his struggles with his demons. 

"This is just something that's showing why I do what I do, and why I'm so passionate about it, and why I put so much into it," Santana explained. The former TNA World Tag Team Champion recalled watching the documentary interview alongside his daughter before its release, citing her as the reason why he fought his addictions. 

"She wrote her Christmas List for Santa, and on her list, one of the only things that was that she wanted Daddy to stop," Santana confessed. "And that s**t... That was it, you know?"

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio," and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.