Cody Rhodes was responsible for top duo choosing AEW over WWE, says 33-year-old star

Cody Rhodes played a huge role behind AEW's acquisition of a top tag team, according to a 33-year-old former talent of the promotion. The star in question is Mike Santana.

The Nasty Assassin was one of the earliest signees of the Jacksonville-based company, alongside his tag partner Ortiz. Since returning from a lengthy injury-related hiatus in 2023, Santana decided to focus on his singles career.

However, he was not pushed as a solo performer in the Tony Khan-led company, leading to his departure in 2024. The 33-year-old star recently discussed the circumstances leading up to his AEW signing following the expiration of Proud and Powerful's IMPACT Wrestling contract in 2019.

In a conversation with Chris Van Vliet, Mike Santana revealed that he and Ortiz had entertained offers from both WWE and All Elite Wrestling, but opted for the latter after having given his word to then-AEW EVP and talent, Cody Rhodes.

"Oh, yeah. When our contracts were coming up with TNA, there was interest with AEW and WWE. We had spoken to WWE extensively and they made it very hard for us to turn them down. But our thing was, so Cody was the one who hired us, right, and we had spoken a while back and we had given Cody our word before anything, and our word is everything. So by that point, they asked, 'Hey, have you signed anything?' And we're like, 'No, but we gave out word and we would like to stick to that.'" [31:10 - 31:53]

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Mike Santana believes another AEW star may follow Cody Rhodes and depart for WWE

Cody Rhodes shocked the wrestling world when he left the company he helped start to return to WWE in 2022. The American Nightmare is currently locked in a bitter feud against The Bloodline, and will challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title on Night Two of WrestleMania XL.

During a conversation with Chris Van Vliet, Mike Santana revealed that he was not surprised by Rhodes jumping ship to the Triple H-led promotion. He further claimed that another member of the All Elite Wrestling roster could follow in the footsteps of the former TNT Champion, although he did not offer any hints as to who they could be.

"I'll be real, there was two people that I said off the bat, they were gonna go back to WWE. One of them already did," Santana said.

It remains to be seen what the future holds for Santana, who has been tearing it up in the independent scene.

Were Santana and Ortiz underutilized in AEW? Share your thoughts and hit the discuss button!

Please credit Chris Van Vliet and add an H/T to Sportskeeda if you use quotes from the article.