Santos Escobar describes how he was turned down when he first pitched the idea of bringing the LWO back.
During his time in NXT, Escobar led Legado del Fantasma, a group that included Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde, and Elektra Lopez. The stable had a prominent run on the brand and eventually moved up to the main roster in October 2022, though Zelina Vega replaced Lopez. The group eventually joined forces with Rey Mysterio, who gave them LWO shirts and signaled the return of the Latino World Order. The group has been featured on WWE TV er since.
Speaking on Out of Character with Ryan Satin, Escobar recalled how he wanted to reform the LWO from day one, as representing lucha libre is very important to him.
"That was something I wanted since day one. So here’s the thing. I’ve always thought that, as a minority, we have to stay together somehow to present who we are, where we come from, and what we’re about. If we present those three every time we go out there, eventually everyone will know what lucha libre is, who I am, where I come from, and all these rules and regulations and traditions that lucha libre has," Escobar said.
Escobar then described how he brought the idea of bringing the LWO back up during his first conversation with Triple H, but he turned it down. He explained that Triple H told him that he wanted Escobar to be known for being himself, rather than being associated with someone else. Escobar then stated that the timing wasn't right anyway, as a new LWO needed an original member of the group, and they eventually got that with Rey Mysterio.
"The very first conversation I had with Triple H, and he asked me, ‘What do you want to do?’ I told him, ‘Can I bring back the LWO?’ Before I said the letter ‘O,’ he said, ‘No. I want you to be you, and I want people to see you, and not think of anybody else. I want you to think of something. You want a group? We can do a group. But write something down, think about it, give it to me, and we’ll see. So that kind of shot down my initial desire, but Triple H was right. The time wasn’t right, it wouldn’t have been what it is right now. Also, it needed a very important ingredient, an O.G, an original LWO [member], and that’s Rey. So that’s why Legado came about, and it was beautiful. It gave ne the opportunity to do everything I wanted to do. Who I am, where I come from, what I’m about, and that’s what I did every single time I was out there. Every promo, every backstage, every scene, every feud, every rivalry was letting people know that I’m all about lucha libre, that lucha libre is about tradition, heritage, culture, familia. All the values that you have, whether you’re Mexican, Latino, or not, are the values I have. We relate, and that’s how Legado got over, that’s how Santos got really over on NXT. Because everything I say, it’s real," Escobar said.
Escobar previously stated that he had no doubt the LWO would shine. Click here to see what he had to say.
In a recent interview, Zelina Vega discussed being part of the LWO. Check out her comments here.
On the June 9 episode of WWE SmackDown, Escobar will compete in a Money in the Bank Qualifying Match. Check out the card here. Fightful will have coverage of the show as it airs.
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