Mark Sanchez (born February 4, 1991), better known by the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Santana, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he performs under the

Mike Santana. He also makes appearances for House of Glory (HOG), where he is the current HOG Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. In 2012, Sanchez, then known as Mike Draztik, formed a tag team with Angel Ortiz, known as EYFBO (acronym for Entertain Your Fucking Balls Off or Entertain Your Freakin Butt Off) and worked on the American independent scene for several years. They won titles such as the

AAW Tag Team Championship The AAW Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship which is created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion All American Wrestling (AAW). There have been a total of 42 reigns shared betwee ...

, CZW World Tag Team Championship and the

HOG Tag Team Championship House of Glory (HOG) is an American professional wrestling school and promotion created by Amazing Red and is now owned by Master P. House of Glory was featured in an MTV news article. The promotion has run shows in New York and Toronto. Curren ...

. In 2017, Dratzik and Angel Ortiz were hired by TNA, then known as Impact Wrestling, and they changed their names to Santana and Ortiz respectively. They joined Konnan as the members of the stable The Latin American Xchange (LAX) and became a big part of the promotion's tag team division. During their time in Impact, they won the World Tag Team titles four times, holding the record for most combined days as champions, with 662 days and, at one point, the record as the longest reign with 261 days. They also won

GFW Tag Team Championship Global Force Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2014 by Jeff Jarrett, the co-founder and former President of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (now known as Impact Wrestling), and his wife Karen Jarrett. It is o ...

and unified the title with the Impact Tag Team Championship. Santana and Ortiz left the promotion in 2019 and, soon after, joined the newly created All Elite Wrestling, where they joined Chris Jericho's stable The Inner Circle. After Jericho and Jake Hager turned on them, Santana and Ortiz and teamed up with Eddie Kingston. Santana left AEW in 2024 and returned to TNA.

Professional wrestling career

Impact Wrestling (2017–2019)

On the March 16, 2017 episode of ''

Impact Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

'', Sanchez, under the ring name Santana, made his debut as a member of The Latin American Xchange (LAX), alongside Ortiz. They became part of LAX with

Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

Diamante A diamanté (also spelled diamante) is a glittering ornament, such as an artificial jewel (e.g. a rhinestone) or a sequin. Diamante may also refer to: Places Argentina * Diamante, Entre Ríos, a ''municipio'' in Diamante Department * Diama ...

, and manager Konnan, where attacked Decay, Laredo Kid, Garza Jr., and Reno Scum inserting themselves in the Impact World Tag Team Championship picture and winning them the following week, establishing themselves as

heels The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerte ...

in the process. On the March 30 episode of ''Impact'', Ortiz and Santana defeated Decay, Laredo Kid and Garza Jr. and Reno Scum to win the Impact World Tag Team Championship for the first time. On the April 23 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Santana and Ortiz defeated Veterans of War ( Mayweather and Wilcox) in a tournament finals to win the

. On November 5 at Bound for Glory, they lost to Ohio Versus Everything (OVE), when as part of a double turn with Sami Callihan interfering on OVE's behalf, Jake Crist performing a low blow on Ortiz, and OVE attacking them after the match, thus turning LAX into faces in the process. On the May 24, 2018 episode of ''Impact'' King became the newest member of LAX. After the group leader Konnan was attacked, and

and

went missing in action, King assumed leadership of the faction and guided Ortiz and Santana back to being tag team champions. In June, Konnan and Diamante returned, both showing suspicion about King's involvement with the group. On the July 5, 2018 episode of ''Impact'', Konnan confronted King who admitted that it was he who had "taken out a hit" against Konnan to takeover the faction. King then attempted to get Ortiz and Santana to recognize him as the new head of the group but they rejected this and stood beside the original leader, Konnan. Then, former LAX members Hernandez and Homicide returned, entering the ring and attacking Konnan, Santana and Ortiz. At Bound for Glory on October 14, Hernandez and Homicide lost to Ortiz and Santana in a Concrete Jungle Death match. On January 12, 2019,

The Lucha Bros The Lucha Brothers, also known as The Lucha Bros or Los Lucha Bros, are a Mexican professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Penta El Zero Miedo/Penta Oscuro and Rey Fénix, and their manager Alex Abrahantes. They currently compete ...

(

Pentagón Jr. Pentagón Jr. (born February 5, 1985) is a Mexican luchador enmascarado (masked professional wrestler) signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Penta El Zero Miedo ("Penta Zero Fear"), where he currently holds one-third of the AEW ...

and Rey Fénix) defeated Santana and Ortiz at the TV Tapings in Mexico to win the Impact World Tag Team Championships. Santana and Ortiz would reclaim them at the

Rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

pay per view on April 28. They held the titles until July, when they lost them to The North ( Ethan Page and Josh Alexander). On July 8, it was revealed that Santana and Ortiz would soon be leaving Impact and had interest from WWE and All Elite Wrestling. During August 9 tapings Santana and Ortiz were given a "send off" by the Impact locker room. Santana confirmed the following day that he and Ortiz were in fact done appearing on Impact Wrestling.

All Elite Wrestling (2019–2024)

On August 31, 2019, at All Out, Santana and Ortiz made their debut for All Elite Wrestling (AEW), attacking both

Lucha Brothers The Lucha Brothers, also known as The Lucha Bros or Los Lucha Bros, are a Mexican professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Penta El Zero Miedo/Penta Oscuro and Rey Fénix, and their manager Alex Abrahantes. They currently compete ...

(

and Fénix) and Nick Jackson after their tag team ladder match, establishing themselves as heels. On October 2, the inaugural episode of ''

Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

'', they teamed with Chris Jericho in the main event and defeated The Elite ( Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks). Led by Jericho, they subsequently formed a new faction along with Sammy Guevara and Jake Hager called The Inner Circle. On the November 18, 2020 episode of ''Dynamite'', Konnan reunited with Santana and Ortiz during an Inner Circle party in Las Vegas. In March 2021, the Inner Circle began feuding with The Pinnacle, thus turning Santana and Ortiz faces in the process. On the February 9, 2022 episode of ''AEW Dynamite'', the Inner Circle had a team meeting that ended with Sammy Guevara throwing his vest and walking out. It was later announced that Jericho and Hager would face Santana and Ortiz in a tag team match the following week, with it being billed as the ''Inner Circle Implodes'' match. On the March 9, 2022 episode of ''Dynamite'', the Inner Circle was disbanded after Jericho and Hager attacked Santana and Ortiz and formed an alliance with

2point0 Angelo Parker and Matt Menard, also formerly known as 2.0 (stylized as 2point0) and 3.0, and later Ever-Rise in WWE, is a Canadian professional wrestling tag team currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where they are also a part of the Jer ...

and Daniel Garcia. On the June 29, 2022 at '' Blood And Guts'', Santana and Ortiz competed in the main event, defeating the Jericho Appreciation Society. During his absence, it was reported Santana and Ortiz had problems working together. After the tag team returned following Santana's recovery from injury, Santana had his ring name changed to ''Mike Santana''. The team competed alongside the Blackpool Combat Club losing to Kingston, Penta El Zero M and

Best Friends Best Friend or Best Friends may refer to: * Someone with whom one shares the strongest type of friendship. Film and television * ''Best Friend'' (film), a 2020 South Korean film * ''Best Friends'' (1982 film), a film starring Goldie Hawn and B ...

' Trent Beretta, Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy in a Stadium Stampede match at All In at Wembley Stadium on August 27. After the event, the team disbanded which led to a match on '' AEW Rampage'' on October 27, where Santana defeated Ortiz. In March 2024, Santana's profile was removed from AEW's official website, ending his almost five-year tenure with the company.

Return to TNA (2024–present)

On April 20, 2024, Santana made his return to TNA at

, defeating

Steve Maclin Stephen Kupryk (born May 26, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he performs under the ring name Steve Maclin. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name S ...

. On April 24, it was announced by TNA Wrestling that Santana had signed with the promotion.

Championships and accomplishments

* AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined **

( 1 time) – with Ortiz * All Elite Wrestling ** Dynamite Award (3 times) *** "

Bleacher Report Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Aug ...

PPV Moment of the Year" (

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

) – Stadium Stampede match ( The Elite vs. The Inner Circle) – Double or Nothing (May 23) *** "Biggest Beatdown" (

) – The Inner Circle jumping Orange Cassidy – ''

'' (June 10) ***Hardest Moment to Clean Up After (

) – (

vs. Santana and Ortiz) –

(September 16) * Combat Zone Wrestling ** CZW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ortiz * House of Glory ** HOG World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current) **

(3 times) * Impact Wrestling / Total Nonstop Action Wrestling **

( 1 time) – with Ortiz ** Impact World Tag Team Championship ( 4 times) – with Ortiz ** Impact Year End Award (1 time) ***Tag Team of the Year (

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

) – with Ortiz * Jersey Championship Wrestling ** JCW Tag Team Championships (1 time) – with Ortiz *Greektown Wrestling **Greektown Wrestling Championship (1 time) *Latin American Wrestling Entertainment **LAWE Heavyweight Championship (1 time, inaugural) * '' Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' ** Faction of the Year (2021) – with The Inner Circle ** Ranked No. 119 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the '' PWI 500'' in 2019 *Pro Wrestling Revolver **PWR Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ortiz *WrestlePro **WrestlePro Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ortiz *Warriors Of Wrestling **WOW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ortiz * World Wrestling League ** WWL World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ortiz

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Santana 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from New York City American male professional wrestlers American people of Puerto Rican descent Professional wrestlers from New York (state) AAW Tag Team Champions TNA/Impact World Tag Team Champions GCW Tag Team Champions CZW World Tag Team Champions HOG Heavyweight Champions HOG Tag Team Champions