Santos Escobar Expected To Hold Talks With CMLL Following WWE Release

Santos Escobar's next destination following his WWE release may have already been revealed.

Fightful Select has reported that when Escobar became a free agent in October 2025, CMLL actually expected him to join the Lucha Libre promotion. After WWE offered Escobar a "very big money" deal to re-sign with the company, however, the former Legado del Fantasma leader ended up returning to the organisation just hours after his exit.

Following his WWE release, though, those Fightful spoke to expect talks between CMLL and Santos Escobar to resume, so he may well end up returning to Mexico. Escobar previously wrestled for CMLL from 2008 until 2013 as El Hijo del Fantasma and he is a former CMLL World Middleweight Champion and CMLL World Trios Champion with Hector Garza and La Mascara.

Escobar departed CMLL in 2013 and made a surprise debut for AAA, where he continued to perform until he signed with WWE in 2019. Escobar initially continued to wrestle under the mask in WWE as El Hijo del Fantasma until he unmasked in 2020 and adopted the new name of Santos Escobar.

Escobar did not return to WWE TV after he re-signed with the company in 2025. He was utilised on AAA programming, which is now owned by WWE and Fillip, in a feud with El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and he wrestled at AAA Rey de Reyes on March 14, but Escobar aggravated an injury at the show and he underwent surgery on a torn triceps soon after.

Escobar is still out of action due to the injury, but WWE released him anyway with the company's line of thinking, according to Fightful, being that he will be almost cleared for an in-ring return when his 90-day wait period comes to an end. Escobar will not be able to use the WWE Performance Center to rehab his injury in the meantime, however.