Mike Santana Details How His First WWE NXT Appearance Came Together

Mike Santana discusses the validation of making his WWE debut after over a decade in the industry.

Thanks to the working relationship between WWE NXT and TNA Wrestling, Mike Santana had the opportunity to appear on WWE NXT TV. He even competed for the TNA World Championship during an episode of NXT. Now, he’s looking back on the experience.

Speaking to Sean Ross Sapp in an interview recorded before TNA Slammiversary, he described his WWE debut as a rewarding experience that validated his years of dedication to the craft. He also detailed how his appearance came to be.

“It’s definitely a rewarding feeling for sure because it validates all the hard work and validates that first initial thought of like, ‘Yo, I could do this. People might not see it now, but they will.’ That’s the thing too, I was talking earlier with someone and I was like, ‘I made a plan for myself and I’ve been following that plan step for step and it’s been working.’

“Also, when putting this plan together, I didn’t put a timeline on it. I didn’t say, ‘Alright, by this year, I want to do this.’ I was like, I’m going to put this plan together, and however long it takes is how long it takes, and I’m going to do what I got to do, but I’m going to stick to my guns as much as possible and go forward with this plan. Also, I shared the plan with maybe four people and to have three of those people hit me up constantly and go, ‘It’s crazy how you’ve hit everything on that plan,’ it’s pretty cool.

“But going back to the WWE thing, it’s a good feeling to feel wanted, of course. Especially when coming from what I’ve come from and having done what I’ve done, it’s definitely a good feeling. Honestly, bro, I feel like I’m just getting started. There’s just so much more. I’m still young, thankfully, and I’m still healthy and I’m good to go.”

Santana says he found out about his WWE NXT debut just a few days in advance. He already knew he’d be part of the WWE NXT Battleground pay-per-view, and from there, everything moved fast. While he understood the significance of the moment, he approached it as he would any other day at work.

“So I was told maybe a couple days. It just happened so fast. It was like, ‘Hey, you got a couple days. This is what’s happening.’ But I didn’t know like the full-on plan. I just knew that I was going to Battleground and then it snowballed from there. I got that call. They told me what was up and I was like, ‘Let’s go, another day at work.’ That’s also how I looked at it. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to WWE and it’s a major deal, it’s my first time walking through those doors.’ Hell, I said it in my very first time in front of a WWE camera. It’s taken me 16 years to get to this point, but at the same time, I treated it like another day at work.”

Check out the full interview with Santana embedded above.