Mike Santana Felt Like ‘A Riot Was Rumbling’ After His Loss At TNA Slammiversary

Mike Santana reflects on TNA Slammiversary.

Last month at TNA Slammiversary, Santana would feature in the main event of the show, challenging for the TNA World Title in a bout that featured champion Trick Williams and Joe Hendry. Santana would come up short in New York, leading to an emphatic reaction against Santana’s loss.

While speaking on Insight With Christ Van Vliet, Santana spoke about TNA Slammiversary, admitting that he felt like there was a riot brewing.

“What a moment. Just that whole lead-up and just the day in general, it was special. It was special. I said it after we went off the air, I got on the mic a little bit, because the crowd was just like [unhappy]. I was like, there’s a riot rumbling in here, so let me calm them down a little bit. I told them that I wrestled in that building twice before in a throwaway match, like four or five minutes or whatever. And I was like, it’s crazy. I went from the throwaway to the main event. I went from undesirable to undeniable, and what a journey it’s been. It was like a like, one of those full circle moments of, if you believe in yourself, you make anything possible.”

Santana continued, noting how special it was to have his family at the event.

“To have my family there and my daughter there, it was special. The way the city came out, and the way that crowd just reacted, and it was one of those things. I’ll be honest, I remember the fear that I felt when I finally got my release, and it was like, it’s over, right? Because you can hope and wish all you want, nothing is guaranteed. I had a plan for myself. I didn’t put a timetable on the plan. I was like, this is the plan. This is the plan that I’m gonna follow, whether it takes two years, five years, whatever it is, I gotta do what I gotta do. But I remember in the back of my head, I just prayed that I could continue giving my daughter the life that she has and making sure that she’s comfortable, and we don’t have to struggle. So there was a lot of that, right? It could work, it could not, but that fear is what made me say, I have to do it. Real quick story, my grandmother, God bless her, she had the opportunity back in like the early 90s, late 80s to buy a piece of property in the Lower East Side. And because of her situation, it was kind of unstable. She had a fear of not being able to afford it, and she had three kids to take care of, and all these things, so she ended up not buying it. That property today is worth like $4 million. I remember her telling me that story, and I was like, I will never allow fear to stop me from anything.”

Santana previously reacted to his loss at TNA Slammiversary, which you can find here.