Santos Escobar On WWE Retiring The Cruiserweight Title, Why Cruiserweights Aren’t Obsolete
Santos Escobar talks about the disbanding of the Cruiserweight division.
Santos Escobar rose to prominence on NXT as NXT Cruiserweight Champion but following the match between Roderick Strong and Carmelo Hayes, the Cruiserweight Championship is no longer active after a five-year tenure in WWE.
Speaking to Rick Ucchino on Bleav in Pro Wrestling, Escobar explains why he was sad to see the belt go and reflected on his own legacy with the belt.
“I was sad because it was a big and important part of my career. My career as a whole and my tenure here in WWE and on NXT,” said Escobar. “I think me and my familia, we did an amazing job with the Cruiserweight Division. But you know, like I said before, things evolve and things change. And now, as opposed to having just the Cruiserweight Division, as you can see, the NXT 2.0 roster is rich in not just cruiserweights, but heavyweights. So as opposed to secluding them in one division, I think it was the right thing to do. To just have an even more open range with the North American Title and have everyone just fight and go.”
Furthermore, Escobar said he doesn’t feel like cruiserweights are obsolete but acknowledges that there will always be a challenge to being a Cruiserweight wrestler in WWE.
“Not Obsolete. Being a cruiserweight is always challenging. You may not have the weight, you may not have the size, but you sure have the talent. And it’s challenging because you have to evolve and think of new maneuvers, think of new stuff that you can throw in, and steal the show. But now that everyone else is replicating the style, then now you have to double down and show me, what else can you do? What else is out there that you can offer to the show, to the roster, to the WWE universe, to the audiences at home? Come on, give it to me,” he said. “That’s the challenge the cruiserweights have, because, let’s face it, if you’re 285 pounds, 6’4” guy, pure muscle, maybe all you have to do is flex and you capture the audience. But the cruiserweights have got to do a little more.
“If you have this big guy doing stuff that a cruiserweight does, then the cruiserweight has to do even more. I love that because it makes you be creative. It makes you think on the move and just grasp the love. What we want from the audience is the ultimate investment, which is time. Time is the only resource that you will not get back. So, if I’m on TV for two minutes, one minute or 25 minutes, I will capture your attention. A cruiserweight is gonna die in the line for that,” Escobar added.
Now, Escobar looks to take that next step and become the NXT Heavyweight Champion in a match against Bron Breakker at NXT Vengeance Day. Fightful will have live coverage of the show beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern as the show airs on Syfy on Tuesday, February 15.
