Could a Proud & Powerful reunion be on the cards in the future?
Mike Santana requested and was granted his AEW release in March of last year, ending a five-year tenure with the promotion that saw him team with long-time partner Ortiz for the majority of his run. Multiple reports, as well as comments from the wrestlers themselves, have since confirmed that the pair’s split stemmed from no longer being on the same page.
Speaking to Wombreezy, Ortiz revealed that despite their somewhat strained relationship, he believes a reunion with Santana could still happen in time.
“There’s a huge part of me that didn’t want the tag team to break up only because I don’t feel we really fleshed out our full potential. There was signs of it, it was there, but really we needed to still evolve as a team, as far as the storytelling aspect of tag team wrestling, when it’s done well it’s awesome…I feel we had glimmers of it, but we didn’t get to the top of our game as a tag team. So, if there was an opportunity, depending on the circumstances, I would say I think with time I would definitely be open to it. I’m a believer too in ‘never say never’ because anything could happen, the stars align in the right way, and it makes all the sense in the world for it to happen. So yeah there’s definitely a part of me that says yes right away, and there’s a part of me that’s hesitant. But definitely I think so maybe, who knows? Maybe when we’re old and grizzled.”
-Ortiz
Mike Santana returned to TNA Wrestling following his AEW departure last year and now holds the TNA World Championship while also making occasional appearances on WWE NXT. Ortiz, meanwhile, hasn’t appeared on AEW television since January last year but continues to compete regularly across the independent scene.
Whilst competing together under the names EYFBO, LAX, and Proud & Powerful, the pair have captured tag team gold in promotions including Impact Wrestling, CZW, House of Glory, and AAW, amongst others.
Elsewhere during the interview, Ortiz revealed that he has around one year left on his current AEW deal but would be open to remaining with the company. You can read more about that here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the future of Ortiz as soon as we hear more.
H/T to WrestleTalk for the transcription.
