Romeo Malverde Says Santos Escobar & King Cuerno Are Part of His New Character’s DNA

Romeo Malverde is carrying his past with him following his WWE exit.

In April of this year, Santos Escobar was part let go by WWE while he was shelved by an injury. However, just a few days ago, those part of the post WrestleMania talent cuts, including The Motor City Machine Guns, The Wyatt Sicks, and Aleister Black, all became able to sign elsewhere after the expiration of their 90-day non-compete clauses. With Escobar being the son of El Fantasma, many wondered if he’d return to his ‘El Hijo Del Fantasma’ ring name, but he later announced ‘Romeo Malverde’ as his new character. With some fans questioning this choice, Malverde has now addressed this choice and how he plans to carry his history with him.

Speaking with soto619wrestling at San Diego Comic Con, Malverde said he plans to carry his previous characters with him as he starts a new beginning.

“The new character, which I had just announced on social media, is Romeo Malverde. For all the people out there that wanted me to go back to El Hijo del Fantasma, that has never left. Everywhere I’ve gone, everything I’ve done, it’s always been embedded with my DNA. That’s why Santos Escobar was a hit. That’s why King Cuerno was a hit. That’s why El Hijo del Fantasma is still a hit if I want to. This business is about telling stories and putting smiles on people’s faces. Not holding onto the past. Creating new paths and opportunities. I gave everything, and that’s exactly what was taken. But now, new beginnings, reinvention.”

-Romeo Malverde

Malverde implies above that he has retained the rights to the El Hijo del Fantasma name should he choose to use it, although this isn’t confirmed as of writing. The former NXT Cruiserweight Champion wrestled under the name in CMLL before jumping to AAA in 2013. It was around this time that Malverde also began appearing in Lucha Underground as King Cuerno, where he became a Gift of the Gods Champion.

Malverde signed with WWE in 2019, forming Legado del Fantasma in NXT before joining the main roster and becoming part of the LWO. Prior to his release, Malverde had formed a new version of his Legado del Fantasma faction with Los Garzas, Angel & Berto prior to his release.

While fans are still waiting to find out what’s next for the released WWE stars, a report recently emerged suggesting AEW could be lining up at least seven new additions to their roster. You can read more about that here.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the latest news regarding Romeo Malverde and other recent WWE releases as soon as we hear more.

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