When Santos Escobar landed in the WWE Universe as a member of the NXT Brand, it felt like a pretty big deal.

Originally known as El Hijo del Fantasma – which literally translates to “The Son of Fantasma” – Escobar battled around the wrestling world, from CMLL to Lucha Libre AAA to Impact, and even a run in Lucha Underground, where he wrestled under the name King Cuerno before making his way to The Fed. Over his two-decade run on the indies, Escobar traveled from town to town and wrestled everyone from Fenix to Brian Cage, Rey Mysterio, Pentagon Jr., and even the man now known as Ricochet over his runs across North America.

Fortunately, NXT gave Escobar a new home, a new identity, and a family that wanted to work with him toward their ultimate goal of forging a legend in the WWE Universe. Dubbed Legado Del Fantasma, Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz Del Toro, and their manager, Elektra Lopez, had a ton of success both in the squared circle and in the even more cutthroat game of backstage politics before they fell into the path of the Tony D'Angelo family. Over a four-month run, the two teams battled in the ring, in the meeting room, and all over Florida, with the conditions of their bouts becoming increasingly more desperate, including a bout to indenture the services of one team to the other.

The final bout of their increasingly ugly affair? A “Legado del Fantasma's Freedom vs. Santos Escobar's NXT Career Street Fight” match to do, well, what the title says. Would Legado finally be free to go back to their heelish ways? Or would Tony D overcome his foes on the way to sole proprietorship status over the NXT underground?

Unfortunately for Escobar, the match didn't go his way – with a pair of brass knuckles and a crowbar introduced into the match, the duo dived for their preferred weapons, and with a single swipe and a 1-2-3, the Fantasma Era of NXT officially came to an end. Wilde, Del Toro, and Lopez will now presumably remain contracted to the D'Angelo Family, and Escobar will have to… do something else, as he's no longer allowed to be a member of NXT.

So that's that, right? Escobar is heading to AEW, NJPW, or maybe even back to Mexico? Hardly, as Fantasma's son remains a contract WWE performer and must now look for a new place to hang his mask and do what he does best. These three landing spots could guarantee Escobar lands on his feet.

Santos Escobar has options across the WWE Universe.

3. Wrestle on RAW

If Escobar wants to prove himself a big-time solo performer free of the legacy of his father, his friends, or his history, the best way to do so would be to just start showing up on RAW, wrestle Bobby Lashley for the United States Championship, and hope that his efforts show out well enough to garner a longer look on the Red Brand. Escobar has wrestled 109 solo matches over his career, according to Cagematch, with wins over everyone from Fenix to Mil/King Muertes, and even Bandido, and he could theoretically have just as much success as a solo star on the RAW roster, too.

While it's possibly the least exciting of the three options at Escobar's disposal, it is by no means a bad one, and may ultimately prove to be the best course of action if Triple H and company think they have the next Ricochet on their hands.

2. Join Los Lotharios on SmackDown

After months away and a prematurely halted push, Los Lotharios on SmackDown and have their collective sights set on none other than Max Dupri of the Maximum Male Models' sister, Maxxine. This, understandably, has rubbed the owner of the MMM stable the wrong way, and it won't be long until the dashingly handsome duo of Mace and Mansoor – now spelled ma.ce and man.soor – have to throw down with Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo to fight for Maxxine's honor.

Could the forthcoming back-and-forth between the two factions remain a two-on-two affair? You bet, but if Triple H wants to shake things up and elevate the angle considerably, the easiest way to do so would be to deal Escobar in with the Lotharios and make things a right proper three-on-three. Escobar is a fantastic talker, and pairing him with a legitimately charismatic tag team is the best way to establish a new trio in the WWE Universe and break up the monotony that has become stagnant at the top of the card. Considering the two men have already shared the ring around the world as both friends and foes, a union could make a ton of sense.

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1 Return to NXT as El Hijo del Fantasma.

Santos Escobar is no longer allowed on NXT, but El Hijo del Fantasma, the masked babyface from Mexico City, Mexico? As far as fans know, Tony D'Angelo doesn't even know who Fantasma is.

Now granted, would it be “cheap” to have Escobar return to NXT in a different way and attempt to take down the D'Angelo Family from the outside as a masked, avenging babyface? You bet, but, pray tell, when has that ever stopped WWE from doing it in the past? Hulk Hogan once performed under the name “Mr. America,” and while that angle fizzled out, it was rather fun for the time. After taking a beating from D'Angelo, it's hard to imagine Escobar working as a heel moving forward, so why not fully embrace his former character and lean into the tongue-in-cheek craftiness that a banned babyface would pull?