WWE's Plans For Santos Escobar Possibly Revealed At NXT Heatwave

Santos Escobar will no longer be on "NXT 2.0."

During the August 16 episode of WWE "NXT", Escobar was defeated by Tony D'Angelo in a Street Fight match. The stipulations were that if Escobar won, Legado del Fantasma (Cruz del Toro and Joaquin Wilde) would be free from the D'Angelo family, but if D'Angelo won, LDF would stay under his control and Escobar would be forced to leave the brand.

A split-second collision decided the match. D'Angelo hit Escobar with a crowbar just as Escobar was hitting D'Angelo with a pair of brass knuckles. However, it was D'Angelo who collapsed on top of Escobar and got the pin.

The feud between the D'Angelo family and Legado del Fantasma escalated after LDF lost at the "NXT" In Your House event on June 4 and was forced to join the family. A month later, on the July 5 episode of "NXT 2.0," Escobar was put in the hospital by D'Angelo as an example. Escobar made his return on the August 2 episode and launched a surprise attack on D'Angelo, costing them a match for the "NXT" Tag Team Titles.

WWE likely has bigger things planned for Escobar. He teased his jump to the main roster less than a week ago during an appearance on stage at the WrestleMania 39 Launch Party.

Escobar has been with WWE since August 2019, though he didn't make his "NXT" TV debut until 2020 due to a knee injury he suffered soon after arriving at the Performance Center. After he won the WWE Cruiserweight Title on June 10, 2020, he formed the Legado del Fantasma stable with Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza. Elektra Lopez joined the group in August 2021.