Santos Escobar’s Next Destination Possibly Revealed After WWE Exit

Santos Escobar is officially a free agent—and all signs point to AEW as his next destination. The lucha veteran’s contract with WWE expired at midnight on October 6, 2025, and unless a last-minute deal was reached, Escobar is no longer with the company.

According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE had already prepared for Escobar’s exit. Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed the situation on the October 7 episode, revealing how people inside WWE expect him to join AEW.

“Unless he signed. Yeah, unless he signed, you know, unless he signed at the last minute, he’s done. They’ve been expecting him to leave for some time. They obviously took him away from Angel and Berto for that very reason—not expecting him to stay. And yeah, he’s gone.”

Meltzer added that multiple WWE insiders believe Escobar’s next move will be AEW, although nothing is official yet.

“And I do know people there—it’s multiple people there—who expect him to go to AEW. I don’t know if he does or he doesn’t. He’s 41 years old. You know, I don’t know. Some people they take, some people they don’t.”

Escobar built his name as El Hijo del Fantasma in Mexico before signing with WWE in 2019, where he unmasked, formed Legado Del Fantasma, and held the NXT Cruiserweight Championship for more than 300 days. His final WWE appearance came at AAA x WWE Worlds Collide in June and his last SmackDown match was a May 2 loss to Rey Fenix.

With his contract now expired, the door is wide open for Escobar to take the next step in his career—and all signs point to AEW being his landing spot.

Do you think AEW is the right home for Santos Escobar, or should he head back to Mexico or another promotion? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know where you’d like to see him next.

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