When Rey Mysterio gave Santos Escobar one of his masks and even personalized it with an inscription on the side, it signified a pretty important moment of respect from one of the best luchadors in the game today and one of the best who ever did it. This act of kindness effectively turned Escobar and the rest of Legado Del Fantasma face for the first time in their WWE Main Roster career, put the group in Mysterio's corner and finally provided the WWE Hall of Famer with a faction of his own capable of matching wits and wills with the bane of his existence, The Judgement Day.
So naturally, when Dominik Mysterio decided to not only attack Escoar in the lead-up to WrestleMania 39 but rip up the mask Rey gave him, it lit an unquenchable desire for revenge within El Hijo del Fantasma, which he detailed to the fine folks at The Bump on his Wednesday appearance on the show.
“Dominik, Dominik, he did this,” Escobar said while holding up his destroyed Rey Mysterio mask. “Now, he didn’t do this to his dad’s mask; this is my mask. So, it’s sufficient to say that this is very personal to me, and I’m very glad that, at WrestleMania, Rey had a chance to correct his son. But now, I’m going to find a proper time to make him pay for this.”
Why is Escobar so salty about Dominik's actions when he could theoretically just ask his fellow lWo member for a new mask? One word: respect.
“The very core of lucha libre is respect,” Escobar added. “I don’t understand what he wants. But we’re here to stay we’re not going anywhere. If anything, we’re growing bigger, and we’re just gonna keep coming back at him over and over again until he understands that he needs to see things how they really are. Or, we just keep fighting.”
Will Escobar get a chance to share the ring once more with Dominik? Most definitely so, and when that happens, something tells me he will make Rey's belt-spanking spot at WrestleMania 39 look tame.
Santos Escobar explains what being part of the lWo means to him.
Elsewhere in his appearance on The Bump, Santos Escobar was asked about what it feels like to join the lWo, and needless to say, the former NXT standout noted that he still has to pinch himself to make sure he isn't dreaming.
“That’s the precise word I would utilize, surreal. That’s how it felt, it was a magical night,” Escobar aid via Fightful. “I’ve been having those pretty frequently lately, magic nights, and that night was special because it was his induction to the Hall of Fame. We were just there to be with him, and when we called us to his locker room, we were just ecstatic. When he told us that it was official and we were forming again the LWO, I couldn’t believe it. Emotions went through the roof. I still had to get ready for the Hall of Fame ceremony, but I went crazy for a minute there. I couldn’t believe it.”
Asked by Kayla Braxton what it means to join the lWo, Santos embraced the opportunity and his chance to join the legacy started by Eddie Guerrero back in the late 1990s.
“I love it. This is a question that some people have asked me, what does it mean to you, the LWO? Is it just a re-run of the previous LWO? What do you guys stand for?” Escobar added. “I told y’all, it’s time, it’s time for the Latinos to rise, everywhere. We are everywhere, and yes, we are paying homage to the previous LWO, of course, and we want to make Eddie of proud. But this is a whole new, different animal. Rey, myself, Legado Del Fantasma, representing all of my Latinos in the world. Worldwide Latino pride, baby. LWO for life. It’s time.”
Will this version of the lWo work out better than the first one? Only time will tell, but for Escobar, being part of the group's storied legacy is all that really matters.
“Of course, Eddie,” Escobar said. “But if you remember, there was a lot of members there, important members of the Lucha Libre tradition. Damian 666, Hector Garza, who to me personally is a very important individual, may he rest in peace. He helped me a lot. We traveled together, he taught me a lot of things. We were champions together in Mexico. So to be a part of this reincarnation, reformation, regrouping of the LWO, it’s very important to me because I get to carry on what they did, and I get to put my own sauce and my own salt and pepper on it. I love that.”