Santos Escobar On His Future Goals In WWE & NXT, Appreciation For Lucha Libre Culture

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Santos Escobar discussed his appreciation for Lucha Libre culture, his future goals in WWE, and much more. Here are some of the highlights:

Santos Escobar on the importance of his mother to his wrestling career: “She’s my guide. Everyone says their mom is the best, their number one fan, and that’s who she is for me. She’s been there for me since day one. My dad taught me the business and gave me the pearls of the business for almost 30 years, but my mom is my heart, my soul. If you see any overconfidence in Santos Escobar, any ego, that is my mom. She’s the one pumping me up, telling me I’m going places, reminding me I will be champion. I hope everyone has a mom like her. For a very long time, she was preparing me for this life. I’ll give you an example. I’m Mexican. My first language is Spanish, not English. But in America, you have to talk. You can communicate through your in-ring work, but you also have to do it on the mic. That requires an enormous amount of confidence, an enormous amount of pizzazz. All of that comes from my mom. She’s that important to my career, and even more important to me.”

On his presentation in NXT and his appreciation for the Lucha Libre culture: That comes from all the lucha libre legends, including my dad. It brings me back to when I was 12 years old, being around legends like Ray Mendoza and Mil Mascaras, and every single time I’d see them, they’d say, “You want to be a superstar? You need to look like a star.” You go to a restaurant, or the theater, you have to look the part. There is another saying, which translates to “Dress the way you have to even if you owe what you dress.” It’s kind of like a fake-it-until-you-make-it mentality. The truth is, whether it is Mexico or the United States or anywhere around the world, we are icons, we are role models. It is very important how we present ourselves. Now I also agree with people that want to be themselves and dress the way they want. If that’s what someone wants, then that’s fine for them. In my case, this is how I was taught the business, and that is the way I will pass it on to my son.”

On his goals in WWE and NXT: “This business is about confidence. Of course, you need the ability and the skill and the moves, but you need to have confidence. That translates into success. For me, I could be cruiserweight champion forever. I also want to be the next great Mexican wrestler. I want to be the main event of WrestleMania. To achieve that, I’m going to have to work extra hard to get there, and go through different moments, like the cruiserweight division. Maybe next is the North American division. After that, maybe the NXT title division. Then Raw, then SmackDown. I’m never content with my position. I’m always trying to evolve and offer something different. The company sees something in me, and I just need to bring it.”