WWE Just Debuted TNA's Biggest Star (WWE News)

Former two-time TNA World Champion Mike Santana confronted Tony D'Angelo on last night's NXT.

by Andrew Pollard
Mike Santana Tony D'Angelo
WWE

With his TNA contract recently up and plentiful rumours surrounding his future, Mike Santana appeared during the closing moments of last night's NXT broadcast.

In the NXT main event, Tony D'Angelo once again retained his NXT Championship against Naraku, but it was the subsequent post-match appearance from Santana that grabbed the most headlines. There, as Tony D celebrated with his title, music hit, and Santana made his way through the crowd, closing out the show by standing with a bunch of fans as he locked eyes with D'Angelo, clearly signifying that the former two-time TNA World Champion had his eyes on the NXT Championship.

Interestingly, Mike Santana was never referred to by the commentary team as, well, Mike Santana, nor did his name pop up on his entrance video. Instead, he was called a former TNA Champion, he was said to have "crossed the line" - another TNA nod - and there was just a general sense of "look who's here!" rather than actually naming the hugely talented 35-year-old. That's previously been a tactic WWE has utilised when somebody is about to get a name change, as seen with the likes of Ricky Starks/Saints, Mariah May/Blake Monroe, and EVIL/Naraku. While it might not be the case with Mike Santana, the lack of referring to him by his name could well be an indicator that the New Yorker could be about to get a new moniker.

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It's worth noting, it's not been confirmed that Santana has signed with WWE as of this writing, but that certainly seemed like it was going to come to pass once he finished up with TNA a few weeks ago. And if Mike has indeed penned a deal to join the market leader, that's a huge get for them; in the short-term, a major boost for the NXT main event scene, and in the long-term, having the potential to become a serious player on the main roster down the line.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.