Mike Santana made his return to TNA Wrestling at TNA Rebellion, defeating Steve Maclin in his return bout.
At TNA Genesis, Santana defeated Josh Alexander in an "I Quit" match. After the bout, Alexander praised Santana and stated that he was quitting TNA.
Speaking on Straight Talk Wrestling, Alexander looked back on the moment in the ring with Santana.
"Super special, and it’s even more special because that was not scripted whatsoever. That was all my own doing and all my 100% belief that I just put out there on pay-per-view for the world to hear. If you don’t agree with me, too bad. If it meant anything to you that I was regarded as the standard, for me to say that he’s the standard is because I 100% believe it. None of that was storyline or scripted. I said because I believed it so strongly in that moment. Words just came out of my mouth without effort because, I’ve known Mike Santana for ten years. LAX and The North, we worked together a lot before he went off to AEW, and now he’s returned to TNA and has come back with this fire inside of him that I’m very happy to see because I’ve always known he’s capable of this. He’s spoken about his addiction issues and the stuff he’s overcome. Can’t be more proud and more happy for somebody turning their life around because wrestling is his addiction. He had some other things competing for it for a while, and now he’s found this one outlet that is the right outlet for him to get out there and be addicted to and share with the world because he is so talented at this. He cares so much.
"I can talk about how much I love this and care for it all day long. It would sound braggadocious. For me to recognize it in someone else to the point that I feel I have a passion for this and even more than I have a passion for this, that’s where all the respect in the world goes. He has come in, and from his very first match at Rebellion, he came to the back, and I gave him a big hug, and I was like, ‘You should be the champion. You’re the guy. You have solidified (yourself). You’re ready. It’s not like you have to come in here and prove anything to anyone. You went out there and proved it in your very first match, on your entrance alone.’ It bleeds out of him, that passion that he has for pro wrestling. The fans gravitate to him and see how hard he works and how much he loves this and they get with him.
"Being a babyface in pro wrestling is extremely difficult. I lived it for a very long time, and being a babyface champion is a million times more difficult because it’s all up to the chase, and once you get the belt, how are you going to impress me now? I was very lucky when I had the championship that I would go into most matches with a lukewarm reception because I was wrestling another babyface or I was wrestling Eric Young in his hometown of Nashville. I was put in these situations, but by the end of the match, through my wrestling, I would get the crowd back on board. To see Mike, he is such an organic babyface because it’s just real. It is completely genuine and real. To be able to go out wrestling one of my best friends on that Genesis pay-per-view, putting him over, this is a storybook ending for me and my TNA career. People call me the standard, the heart and soul, a lot. I don’t think I ever really took to it in the sense that I ever wanted to believe anybody. Maybe it’s the humbleness. I need Mike to know that he is the standard and the guy setting the bar for the rest of the card from here on out. I think he’s going to take it seriously, and that entire roster is in for something because that guy is going to show up every single night."
Alexander is set to compete in what's being billed as his final TNA match against Eric Young on the February 13th episode of TNA iMPACT!
Elsewhere during the interview, Alexander commented on his upcoming free agency. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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