Mike Santana Explains Real Reason Why He Walked Away from AEW

Mike Santana parted ways with AEW back in March last year and now he’s revealed that he asked for his release multiple times before they finally granted it.

While speaking on the Ariel Helwani Show, Mike Santana was asked why he decided to leave AEW, and he explained that he’s the kind of person who needs constant growth in life. For him, if you’re not growing in your work, then there’s no real purpose. That mindset ultimately led to his decision.

Santana said there was a lot of unhappiness and situations he didn’t align with. From a business perspective, he viewed himself as a brand just like AEW is a brand. He felt it was time to focus on his own brand and keep pushing forward, especially since wrestling is his life.

“I’m the type of person that needs constant growth in my life. In any line of work, if you’re not growing, what are you doing? Ultimately, that was the case. There was just a lot of unhappiness, things I wasn’t really about. And business is business, right? I’m a brand, the same way they’re a brand. I was like, I need to take care of my brand and continue growing, because wrestling is my life.”

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Santana added that he’s not the kind of person who can just sit around collecting a paycheck, so he knew it was time to make a change. There was no bad blood or drama involved; it was simply a matter of doing what was best for his career, his life, and his peace of mind.

“I’m also not the type of person who can sit and collect a paycheck. So it was just about that time. There was no heat or hard feelings. It is what it is. People come, people go. I looked at it as doing what I need to do for my career, my life, and my sanity.”

When asked if AEW tried to keep him, Santana revealed that he had asked for his release multiple times. After returning briefly for a short feud with his former tag team partner, he stopped getting booked on TV.

At that point, Santana felt ready to move on and told them as much. He asked two or three more times, and eventually AEW granted his release. He was grateful for that and ready for the next chapter.

“I had asked for my release multiple times. When I came back and had that short feud with my ex-partner, after that they stopped bringing me to TV. So I was like, yo, let’s get me out of here, I’m good, let’s just move on. I asked two or three times, and finally they granted me my release. I was like, thank you.”

Mike Santana is clearly thriving after his AEW departure since he’s one of TNA’s top stars and will compete for the TNA World Title at Slammiversary. Santana shows that it’s great to bet on yourself and fans are proud of his accomplishments so far.

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