34-Year-Old Star Confirms He Asked for AEW Release "More Than Once" 

A former AEW star was considered a homegrown talent of the Jacksonville-based promotion. Yet, he left All Elite Wrestling more than a year ago and revealed that he had to request his release multiple times.

The star in question is Mike Santana. He was a formidable force in the early days of AEW as part of the Inner Circle faction and had a great run in the company. Santana's notable run came with Ortiz as a tag team. Eventually, the team split, and the 34-year-old wrestler was released from the company in early 2024, citing several personal and professional reasons for his departure.

In a recent appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Mike Santana was asked about his release from All Elite Wrestling. Santana revealed that he had requested to be let go more than once.

"Yeah, more than once." (H/T Insight with Chris Van Vliet)

Furthermore, he added that his priority was to get sober and was not ready to compromise that with his lackluster AEW booking. Moreover, Santana had decided to fully focus on that alongside working on the independent circuit.

"It was always, 'We'll figure it out.' At that time, I was like, I'm going to continue doing the Indies and doing what I got to do to continue building myself and staying busy. I made it very clear when I came back that I wasn't going to come back into a situation that I was in before, and that got me to where I was. As an addict, I put my sobriety first before anything, so I'm not gonna go into a situation that is going to compromise that. So I was like, Listen, I gotta do what I gotta do for me." (H/T Insight with Chris Van Vliet)

---

Matt Hardy endorsed Mike Santana's decision to leave AEW

Mike Santana left AEW and signed with TNA Wrestling. Wrestling veteran Matt Hardy appreciated his decision and applauded his gamble, which paid off. Furthermore, the move now also gives Santana a chance to appear in WWE NXT as part of their multi-year partnership deal.

“Big respect for Mike because he bet on himself. He asked for a release from [All Elite Wrestling]. He left AEW. He didn’t see a chance for him to move up the roster… or how management perceived him, and he bet on himself. He went to TNA, and he has been killing it. He’s been doing great.” (H/T WrestlingNews.co)

With Mike Santana thriving as a TNA Wrestling star at the moment, it will be interesting to see his journey in the wrestling business moving forward.