After officially betraying Rey Mysterio on the previous edition of SmackDown, fans waited with bated breath to see how Santos Escobar, the “Emperor of Lucha Libre,” would justify his actions. Would he explain that there was a reason for his decisions, maybe that Mysterio had hurt him in some way, shape, or form fans weren't aware of before? Or had Escobar just had enough; of Mysterio, of Carlito, or the LWO?

Fortunately, Mysterio and the rest of the WWE Universe got the answer themselves straight from the horse's mouth, as Escobar was afforded a healthy segment on SmackDown to lay it all out.

“Alright, here's an expression you've all heard it: Never meet your heroes. You know I come from a rich Lucha Libre tradition, and my family, all of them have been labeled heroes. But to me like most of you, especially the little ones right there, my hero was Rey Mysterio. I pattern and model everything in my career based off of Rey Mysterio. And it was my wish, a silly wish, that the next generation would see me the same way I used to see Rey Mysterio. You became a father figure to me and you made me feel alone. But after last week, I realized that he was right. Everything he said about you down to a T, Dominik was right!” Santos Escobar declared.

“Well let's think about it for a second: I wanted, I deserved to be the United States Champion, and who became the champion? I wanted to rebuild the LWO, and who took over and brought new members? New members like Carlito? We were supposed to be like this [locks fingers] familia. But what did you do? You sided with an outsider like Carlito over me? You know what Rey? I know you're watching from your hospital bed right now. All this pain you're suffering right now? I hope it reminds you of how I felt when you betrayed me.

“And you, you; you're going to like this one more. You thought I was going to come out here and apologize? Alright, I'll apologize; I apologize for not doing more damage. And Rey, this one, from the bottom of my heart: I hope the surgery didn't go well. I hope you catch an infection and they have to amputate your leg. As a matter of fact, I hope you never come back! You're nothing but a selfish, no good, outright trash; that's what you are.”

Clearly having heart enough, Zelina Vega marched down to the ring to try to convince Escobar to stop, but he refused, leading to Jaquine Wild and Cruz Del Toro to march down to the ring to defend her honor. Unfortunately, Escobar wasn't having that either, as he turned on his friend like he felt that they turned on him.

“Oh, isn't that cute? Jaquine, Raul, you're going to sign with her over me? I made you! You only exist because I allow you to exist; what is this? Have you changed your mind? Are you with me now? Is it going to be the three of us like before?” Escobar asked. “Okay, I see. Get the h*ll out of here. Leave! I don't need you, I never needed you, you're dead weight. We're done! You're nothing, go!”

Attacking his former sidekicks as they left the ring, the message was clear: Santos Escobar is a heel, and he'll be feuding with his friends likely until Mysterio returns from his knee surgery.

Santos Escobar explained himself further after SmackDown.

Discussing his turn on the LWO and his forthcoming match with Carlito at Survivor Series, Santos Escobar explained that he meant everything he said in his promo, noting that he can't understand why Rey Mysterio would choose someone like Carlito over himself.

“I'm a grown man. I say what I mean, and I mean what I say. What I said was that I hope he never comes back. How would you feel if your mentor, the person you respect the most, betrayed you and chose someone like Carlito? How would you feel about that?” Santos Escobar said.

“I'm not angry. I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed in every single lesson in this arena and at home. Did you hear that? They have the nerve to boo me. Boo me? I was betrayed by all of them. I thought I had a family. Family's everything to me. I thought I had a family. They're gone. I'm by myself right from now on.”

Asked if he's ready to wrestle Carlito in Chicago next weekend, Escobar said yes, noting that the match is good news for himself but bad news for “Caribbean Cool.”

“I can't wait. I've been waiting for this moment for a while,” Escobar said. “But I have news for you. Good luck having Carlito on time. Make sure he know what day it is.”

Make sure you have your tickets for Survivor Series, wrestling fans. This has the potential to be very, very, very good.