Santos Escobar Vows To 'Make Latinos Proud' With WWE MITB Victory
Santos Escobar believes the upcoming Money in the Bank premium live event in London, England will mark "the most important night of my life" as he prepares to battle LA Knight, Shinsuke Nakamura, Butch, Ricochet, and either Matt Riddle or Damian Priest for a shot at the career-defining briefcase.
Following his victory over Mustafa Ali in a qualifying match on "WWE SmackDown," Escobar got acquainted with a bunch of ladders in the backstage area, which got him ultra-hyped for the match on July 1. As Escobar stared up a ladder, he vowed to win the briefcase for his fellow Latinos.
"When I do that [win the briefcase], all my Latinos out there will be proud and happy," Escobar told Megan Morant in a post-match interview. "Because LWO's Santos Escobar is gonna meet his destiny [when] I cash in that contract and become El Campeon."
Escobar ended the interview by saying "LWO for life" and pumping his chest in excitement.
EXCLUSIVE: @EscobarWWE gets acquainted with some ladders as he celebrates his win over @AliWWE to earn his way into his first #MITB Ladder match.#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/E70PI3lrIy
— WWE (@WWE) June 10, 2023
The second-generation luchador won't be the only LWO member with an opportunity to make WWE's Latino community proud on July 1. Zelina Vega qualified for the women's Money in the Bank ladder match with a victory over Lacey Evans on June 2, joining the likes of Becky Lynch, Zoey Stark, IYO SKY, and Bayley. The sixth and final competitor will qualify for the women's ladder match in the coming weeks.
Escobar's run as a main roster superstar has gained significant momentum since he aligned himself with Rey Mysterio shortly before the latter's WWE Hall of Fame induction in April. Escobar picked up on the biggest wins of his career on the May 19 "SmackDown" where he and Mysterio defeated The Usos, albeit thanks to an outside distraction from Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Since pinning Jimmy Uso that evening, Escobar has been on a winning streak at both live and televised events, a sign of WWE management's growing faith in his abilities.