| Mike Santana | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Santana in July 2019 | |
| Birth name | Mark Sanchez[1] |
| Born | (1991-02-04)February 4, 1991 (age 34) New York City, New York, U.S.[2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Mike Draztik Mike Santana Santana[3] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Billed weight | 197 lb (89 kg) |
| Billed from | "Bronx, New York" |
| Trained by | Magic |
| Debut | November 2007 |
Mark Sanchez (born February 4, 1991),[2] known by thering nameMike Santana or simplySantana, is an Americanprofessional wrestler. He is signed toTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and also makes appearances forHouse of Glory (HOG), where he is the currentHOG Heavyweight Champion in his first reign.
In 2012, Sanchez, then known as Mike Draztik, formed a tag team withAngel Ortiz, known asEYFBO[4] and worked on the American independent scene for several years. They won titles such as theAAW Tag Team Championship,CZW World Tag Team Championship and theHOG Tag Team Championship. In 2017, Dratzik and Ortiz were hired by TNA, then known as Impact Wrestling, and they changed their names to Santana and Ortiz respectively. They joinedKonnan as the members of theLatin American Xchange (LAX) and won theImpact World Tag Team Championshipfour times, holding the record for most combined days as champions, with 662 days and, at one point, the record as the longest reign with 261 days. They also wonGFW Tag Team Championship and unified the title with the Impact Tag Team Championship. Santana and Ortiz left the promotion in 2019 and, soon after, joined the newly createdAll Elite Wrestling, where they joinedChris Jericho's stableThe Inner Circle. After Jericho andJake Hager turned on them, Santana and Ortiz and teamed up withEddie Kingston. Santana left AEW in 2024 and returned to TNA.
Sanchez debuted in 2007. He spent the first years of his career primarily wrestling In New York andNew Jersey. In 2012, Sanchez, then known as Mike Draztik, formed a tag team withAngel Ortiz, known asEYFBO[4] and worked on the American independent scene for several years. They won titles such as theAAW Tag Team Championship,CZW World Tag Team Championship and theHOG Tag Team Championship.
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On the March 16, 2017 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Sanchez, under the ring name Santana, made his debut as a member ofThe Latin American Xchange (LAX), alongside Ortiz. They became part of LAX withHomicide,Diamante, and managerKonnan, where attackedDecay,Laredo Kid,Garza Jr., andReno Scum inserting themselves in theImpact World Tag Team Championship picture and winning them the following week, establishing themselves asheels in the process. On the March 30 episode ofImpact, Ortiz and Santana defeated Decay, Laredo Kid and Garza Jr. and Reno Scum to win the Impact World Tag Team Championship for the first time. On the April 23 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Santana and Ortiz defeated Veterans of War (Mayweather andWilcox) in a tournament finals to win theGFW Tag Team Championship. On November 5 atBound for Glory, they lost toOhio Versus Everything (OVE), when as part of a double turn withSami Callihan interfering on OVE's behalf,Jake Crist performing a low blow on Ortiz, and OVE attacking them after the match, thus turning LAX intofaces in the process.
On the May 24, 2018 episode ofImpactKing became the newest member of LAX. After the group leaderKonnan was attacked, andHomicide andDiamante went missing in action, King assumed leadership of the faction and guided Ortiz and Santana back to beingtag team champions. In June, Konnan and Diamante returned, both showing suspicion about King's involvement with the group. On the July 5, 2018 episode ofImpact, Konnan confronted King who admitted that it was he who had "taken out a hit" against Konnan to takeover the faction. King then attempted to get Ortiz and Santana to recognize him as the new head of the group but they rejected this and stood beside the original leader, Konnan. Then, former LAX membersHernandez and Homicide returned, entering the ring and attacking Konnan, Santana and Ortiz.[5] AtBound for Glory on October 14, Hernandez and Homicide lost to Ortiz and Santana in aConcrete Jungle Death match.
On January 12, 2019,The Lucha Bros (Pentagón Jr. andRey Fénix) defeated Santana and Ortiz at the TV Tapings in Mexico to win the Impact World Tag Team Championships.[6] Santana and Ortiz would reclaim them at theRebellion pay per view on April 28. They held the titles until July, when they lost them toThe North (Ethan Page andJosh Alexander).
On July 8, it was revealed that Santana and Ortiz would soon be leaving Impact and had interest fromWWE andAll Elite Wrestling.[7] During August 9 tapings Santana and Ortiz were given a "send off" by the Impact locker room.[8] Santana confirmed the following day that he and Ortiz were in fact done appearing on Impact Wrestling.[9]
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On August 31, 2019, atAll Out, Santana and Ortiz made their debut forAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), attacking bothLucha Brothers (Pentagón Jr. andFénix) andNick Jackson after their tag team ladder match, establishing themselves as heels.[10] On October 2, the inaugural episode ofDynamite, they teamed withChris Jericho in the main event and defeatedThe Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks).[11] Led by Jericho, they subsequently formed a new faction along withSammy Guevara andJake Hager calledThe Inner Circle.[12] On the November 18, 2020 episode ofDynamite, Konnan reunited with Santana and Ortiz during an Inner Circle party in Las Vegas.[13] In March 2021, the Inner Circle began feuding withThe Pinnacle, thus turning Santana and Ortiz faces in the process.[14][15]
On the February 9, 2022 episode ofAEW Dynamite, the Inner Circle had a team meeting that ended with Sammy Guevara throwing his vest and walking out. It was later announced that Jericho and Hager would face Santana and Ortiz in a tag team match the following week, with it being billed as theInner Circle Implodes match.[16] On the March 9, 2022 episode ofDynamite, the Inner Circle was disbanded after Jericho and Hager attacked Santana and Ortiz and formed an alliance with2point0 andDaniel Garcia. On the June 29, 2022 atBlood And Guts, Santana and Ortiz competed in the main event, defeating theJericho Appreciation Society.
During his absence, it was reported Santana and Ortiz had problems working together.[17][18] After the tag team returned following Santana's recovery from injury, Santana had his ring name changed toMike Santana.[19] The team competed alongside theBlackpool Combat Club losing to Kingston,Penta El Zero M andBest Friends'Trent Beretta,Chuck Taylor andOrange Cassidy in aStadium Stampede match atAll In atWembley Stadium on August 27. After the event, the team disbanded which led to a match onAEW Rampage on October 27, where Santana defeated Ortiz. In March 2024, Santana's profile was removed from AEW's official website, ending his almost five-year tenure with the company.[20]
On April 20, 2024, Santana made his return to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (formerly known as Impact Wrestling) atRebellion, defeatingSteve Maclin.[21][22] On April 24, it was announced by TNA that Santana had signed with the promotion.[23] In June, Santana would begin a feud withThe System, after they cost Santana a chance to qualify for theTNA World Championship match atSlammiversary. At Slammiversary, Santana defeatedJake Something.[24] Following Slammiversary, Santana would focus fully on The System and get revenge for the attacks on him. On the August 15 episode ofImpact!, Santana would face off againstMoose in a losing effort.[25] AtEmergence, Santana would team withThe Hardys andJoe Hendry to face The System in a eight-man tag team match, in a losing effort.[26] On the September 19 episode of Impact!, Santana would defeatJDC in a Texas Death Match. Following the match, Moose would attack Mike Santana. This would lead to a rematch between the two atBound for Glory. At the event, Santana defeated Moose to end the feud.[27] AtTurning Point, Santana defeatedFrankie Kazarian.[28] AtFinal Resolution, Santana would compete in a four way match to determine the #1 contender for the TNA World Championship, which would involve Joe Hendry,Steve Maclin, andJosh Alexander. However, Hendry won the match.[29]
Following the match, Santana began a feud with Josh Alexander, taking Alexander'sheadgear. After defeating the Northern Armory in a Gauntlet match and later getting attacked by the group, Santana defeated Alexander in an"I quit" match atGenesis to end the feud. Following the match, the two men shook hands and Alexander quit TNA.[30]
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