Santos Escobar wants to face Rey Mysterio, but the time isn't right.
As El Hijo del Fantasma, Escobar had successful runs with both CMLL and AAA before he signed with WWE. He established himself as one of the top stars in the Mexican wrestling scene; as a result, many fans have dreamed of a dream match between Escobar and former World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio. The two stars have interacted on SmackDown in recent weeks, as they faced off in a four-way match on the February 10 episode of the show. As a sign of respect, they traded masks after the show. Escobar also stood up for Rey when Dominik Mysterio insulted his father in an interview on the February 24 episode.
Speaking on WWE Die Woche, Escobar expressed his interest in facing Mysterio before he noted that the legend is currently distracted by his feud with his son, Dominik. He stated that he needs Rey to be 100% when they do face off, as he envisions a potential clash for the right to be seen as the leading lucha libre superstar. Escobar also teased that he has had issues with his father in the past, so he can relate to the situation, and he hinted that he'd help Rey out.
"He’s got problems right now. He’s in a very tough situation because he’s not getting the respect he deserves at home. That affects your life outside of your house. I think the more I want to become the leading lucha libre superstar in the world, the more I want him to be 100% so that I can contend for that. At the moment, I can’t because he’s distracted. I think he needs to solve this somehow. The way I see it, he doesn’t, his career is over. That’s it. He won’t be able to perform the way we want him to perform, the way I need him to perform so that I can challenge him for the lucha libre empire. I want him at this best. If he needs me for that, I’ll help him. I’ve had my own issues with my dad in the past, so I know. I can relate to what he’s going through. I’m a dad myself, I have my son, so I understand where he’s coming from," Escobar said.
Given the way he noted that Dominik is distracting Rey, Escobar was asked whether the young Mysterio was on his list. The WWE SmackDown star stated that anyone who gets in the way of his goal of winning the world title is on his list, and because Dominik is preventing Rey from being 100%, that was a logical conclusion.
"I don’t have a list. If I had a list, it would be to main event WrestleMania and become the Undisputed Universal Heavyweight WWE Champion. That’s my list. Anyone that comes in the way of me achieving that, I guess we could say is on that list. At the moment, I need Rey to be 100%, and the reason why he’s not 100% is Dominik. So I guess logically he is on my list," he said.
When asked about potentially facing Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 40, Escobar briefly responded by saying that he would "love" that.
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