| Santana and Ortiz | |
|---|---|
 Mike Santana (right) and Ortiz (left) in 2019 | |
| Tag team | |
| Members | Angel Ortiz / Ortiz Mike Draztik / Mike Santana / Santana |
| Name(s) | The Latin American Xchange / LAX EYFBO Proud & Powerful Santana and Ortiz |
| Billed from | New York City,New York |
| Debut | March 9, 2012 |
| Years active | 2012–2023 |
Santana and Ortiz, sometimes nicknamed Proud & Powerful, were an Americanprofessional wrestlingtag team consisting ofMike Santana (real name Mark Sanchez, born February 4, 1991) andOrtiz (real name Miguel Molina, born September 27, 1991), who are best known for their time together inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) andAll Elite Wrestling (AEW).[1]
In 2012, Sanchez and Molina, then known as Mike Draztik and Angel Ortiz respectively, formed a tag team known as EYFBO (acronym for Entertain Your Fucking Balls Off or Entertain Your Freakin Butt Off)[2] and worked for several years on the Americanindependent circuit. They won several titles, including theAAW Tag Team Championship,CZW World Tag Team Championship and theHOG Tag Team Championship.
In 2017, they were hired byImpact Wrestling, and changed their names to Santana and Ortiz. They joinedKonnan as the members of the stable TheLatin American Xchange (LAX) and became a big part of the promotion's tag team division. During their time in Impact, they werefour timeImpact World Tag Team Champions, 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 created All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where they joinedChris Jericho's stableThe Inner Circle. After a dispute in The Inner Circle, they left and teamed up withEddie Kingston. They disbanded in 2024 and Santana subsequently left AEW that same year.
On the March 16, 2017 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Santana and Ortiz were part of LAX withHomicide,Diamante, and managerKonnan. LAX 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 Wrestling, Ortiz and Santana defeated Decay, Laredo Kid and Garza Jr. and Reno Scum to win the Impact World Tag Team Championship. 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) 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 intoface 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's trio.[3] 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 LAX during the TV Tapings in Mexico to win the Impact World Tag Team Championships.[4] 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.[5] During August 9 tapings Santana and Ortiz were given a "send off" by the Impact locker room.[6] Santana confirmed the following day that he and Ortiz were in fact done appearing on Impact Wrestling.[7]
On August 31, 2019, atAll Out, Santana and Ortiz debuted as heels forAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), attacking bothLucha Brothers (Pentagón Jr. andFénix) andNick Jackson after their tag team ladder match.[8] On October 2, the inaugural episode ofDynamite, they teamed withChris Jericho in the main event and defeatedThe Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks).[9] Led by Jericho, they subsequently formed a new faction along withSammy Guevara andJake Hager calledThe Inner Circle.[10] On the November 18, 2020 episode ofDynamite, Konnan reunited with Santana and Ortiz during an Inner Circle party in Las Vegas.[11] 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.[12] 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 15, 2022 special episode ofDynamiteRoad Rager, Ortiz would have his head shaved after losing ahair vs. hair match to Jericho. On the June 29, 2022 atBlood And Guts, they competed in the main event, defeating theJericho Appreciation Society.
During his absence, it was reported Santana and Ortiz had problems working together.[13][14] After the tag team returned following Santana's recovery from injury, Santana had his ring name changed toMike Santana.[15] 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.[16]
On September 8, 2019, Santana and Ortiz debuted with the Mexican promotionLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), earning their first victory after defeating the team of Arez andDaga andLaredo Kid andMyzteziz Jr.[citation needed]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Jericho (hair) | Ortiz (hair) | St. Louis, Missouri | Road Rager | June 15, 2022 | [32] |
