Vince McMahon Considered Tito Santana As WWF Champion For International Expansion

Tito Santana recently opened up about a stretch in his WWF career when a world title run was apparently on the table. Speaking on the In The Front Row podcast, Santana shared that Vince McMahon once viewed him as a possible face of the WWF’s expansion into Latin markets.

According to Santana, McMahon believed he could connect strongly with fans in places like Mexico, Spain, and across Central and South America as the WWF pushed to expand internationally. While those conversations happened internally, Santana said the idea ultimately never moved forward (h/t Wrestling News.Co).

“At one point, you know, they were thinking about putting the belt on me, because they were going to go into Spain, Mexico, South America, Central America, and they were, they were thinking about putting the belt on me. I found that out later.”

He also recalled another major discussion after informing WWF that he planned to leave. Santana said McMahon tried to convince him to stay by offering what sounded like a significant push tied to the El Matador character. To help build the gimmick, Santana traveled to Tijuana for legitimate bullfighting training. He said WWF even rented out a stadium where he practiced and appeared publicly as El Matador.

“I went to give him my notice, and he said, No, I got one more thing I want to do. I want to give you a big push. And that’s when I think they were thinking about putting the world title on me. He says, Would you mind going to Mexico and training to be a matador? And I said, No. I said, if you’re going to give me a push, you know, because there’s a big difference in the money when you’re involved and when you’re not involved. And I said, I’ll do whatever you want me to do. He sent me to Tijuana to learn how to be a bullfighter. He hired the stadium where they did the bull fighting, and I even walked in one of the bullfighting matches and to become a matador, you know.”

Once back in the United States, WWF aired promotional vignettes teasing the character and hinting at a feud with Ted DiBiase. Santana said those plans quietly disappeared before they reached television.

“They were going to give me a big push. I was going to come out with a big angle with the with the million dollar man. They started doing vignettes that they were going to use on TV, and we were going to have a feud, you know, going against each other. And before you know it, there’s no feud with me and the million dollar man and I’m getting beat. And I knew, you know the business, so I went, I told Vince.”

Tito Santana admitted the final stages of his WWF run felt different from earlier years. During another conversation about leaving, this time in Montreal, he realized much of the locker room had changed around him. He said McMahon agreed it was probably the right time for both sides to move on.

“I had a long run, you know, you know, Vince told me one time. He says, Tito, this is the bottom, this is the middle, this is the top. You’ve been here so long, you’re always from the middle to the top. I bring you up and down. He says, You never go below.”

The emotional impact hit later. Santana recalled sitting in a motel room in Pennsylvania after leaving the company, thinking about his family and what came next professionally.

“I had a town in Pennsylvania, when we got done with our promos, I was by myself. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I prayed to God. I honestly came down in tears, you know? I said, God, do with me whatever you want. I said, All I ask is that you allow me to keep my family with the lifestyle that they’re accustomed to. I said, with me, do whatever you want, use me as however you want to use me. And you know, I’m a strong Christian, you know. And I believe everything has worked on for me.”

His El Matador run continued on WWF television, including a notable victory over The Undertaker in Barcelona in 1991. Around that same period, Bret Hart emerged as WWF Champion during the company’s growing international expansion. Tito has been inducted into several Halls of Fame, including WWE’s Class of 2004, for his contributions to pro wrestling.