As noted, Santana returned to AEW at this evening’s Fyter Fest edition of Dynamite, where he joined forces with his old partner Ortiz and the Blackpool Combat Club in their fight against Orange Cassidy, Eddie Kingston, The Best Friends, and the Lucha Bros. This marked his first appearance since suffering a gruesome leg injury at the 2022 Blood & Guts matchup.
Santana has since taken to social media and issued a statement on his return, one that details his difficult personal journey over the past few years. He says he is grateful for everything that has happened to him and is ready to put in the work now that he is healthy.
To say that I knew what the road ahead of me was going to be like when I got hurt, would be totally false. The struggles and battles I’ve overcome to get back to what I love and have dedicated my life to is unimaginable. But the most important thing was that it taught me so much about myself and made me a 10x better person than who I was. I’m thankful that everything from the last 3 and half years happened the way they did. It needed to. Everything from losing my father, to unhappiness at work, to personal struggles, and everything in between. I’m thankful for all those things. They forced me to face me. To look in the mirror and learn to love/appreciate the person looking back. My story will be told eventually. I just want to enjoy this moment that I’ve worked so damn hard to get to. Thanks to EVERYONE who ever reached out. Every message from the fans. All the support from my family. Those who were there during my darkest days. I’II forever be grateful for all of you. NOW LETS GET TO WORK!
Check out his full post below.
Thank you. 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/9yupzdfqKf
— Mike SANTANA🇵🇷 (@Santana_Proud) August 24, 2023