Santos Escobar Explains How Speaking English Has Helped Him In NXT
Santos Escobar has become one of the top stars in NXT since he made his debut in the interim Cruiserweight Title tournament in 2020.
Escobar held the NXT Cruiserweight Title for over 300 days and has established Legado del Fantasma as one of the top groups on the gold brand.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Escobar was asked how much freedom he has in NXT given his experience and position.
“I have 20-plus years in the business and they do take that into consideration when they’re asking you, ‘who are you? what do you want people to know?’ I’m Mexican, just trying to make it in America and the American dream. That’s different. I speak English. You don’t see many people like this here. It gives me uniqueness and makes my character and faction different,” he said.
When asked by Bully Ray to elaborate on how speaking English has helped him, Escobar answered, “There are two ways to convey a message to your audience — the companies target and your personal target — your actions in the ring, which is a performing art in and of itself, but also with the mic and communicating with words. Me being different, I have to explain to people what lucha libre is about and the roots of lucha libre. I need to use words. I’m a natural-born and raised Mexican. I have a different message and the way I give it to the audience is with lucha libre in the ring and with the mic.”
WWE has been criticized recently for its lack of care when it comes to Mexican talent. Andrade spoke up about how WWE treated Mexican talent following his release and Sin Cara agreed with his take.
Escobar is set to challenge Kushida for the NXT Cruiserweight Title in a two-out-of-three falls match on Tuesday’s NXT. Fightful will have live coverage of NXT beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
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