Major Star Gives Real Reason Why He Rejected WWE's Offer in Favor of AEW - "I Want to See My Daughter Grow Up"

A former AEW star talked about rejecting WWE for a major reason a few years ago. Mike Santana was a part of AEW from the very beginning until 2024. He was part of multiple huge moments in the company, but always a part of a faction. AEW refused to push him as a singles star despite his requests.

After Mike Santana's 2024 exit, he decided to join TNA and established himself as a main eventer. Due to WWE's affiliation with TNA, he's also had some high-caliber matches on NXT. The 34-year-old star revealed that he had to choose AEW over the global sports entertainment juggernaut in 2019.

While speaking on Insight With Chris Van Vliet, Mike said that WWE had a merciless schedule back in the day. Meanwhile, he and his tag team partner, Ortiz, both had young children then. Therefore, he believed Tony Khan's company was a better option because it allowed him to see his daughter more often.

“A big thing with that was the schedule. We both had young kids at the time, and we wanted to be home. We were like, best case scenario, we go to WWE and things blow up, we’re never going to be home. I was like, I want to see my daughter grow up," he said. [H/T - SEScoops]

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Mike Santana talks about his issues in AEW

During his five-year tenure in the Jacksonville-based promotion, Santana faced various challenges.

Speaking to Tim Hann Rivera, the 34-year-old star said that he wasn't growing in Tony Khan's promotion and didn't get enough opportunities.

"I've always lived my life and every aspect where I'm chasing what's next. 'How are we going to grow? How are we going to continue building?' And it got to a point where it was like that wasn't happening, and we weren't getting those opportunities. And I just wasn't feeling that," he said.

It will be interesting to see what will be next in Mike Santana's career.

Edited by Angana Roy