Santos Escobar Confesses To Going Off-Script In WWE Survivor Series 2023 Match

Santos Escobar has returned to his heel roots of "WWE NXT" on the main roster, which has seen him feud with his former Latino World Order members. Escobar recently had a match against Dragon Lee at Survivor Series: War Games where he came out on top to continue his heel run, and he told Freddie Prinze Jr. on his "Wrestling With Freddie" podcast that he went off script by tearing Lee's mask.

"That was 100% non-scripted. That was just the heel in me and I think it's important that our audiences get that feel. Because now we have Dragon Lee, now we have Axiom, now we have Rey [Mysterio], now we have more and more people diving into the Lucha culture, but like really, really doing it," Escobar said. "The mask, the tradition, the respect that's behind the mask. And so it's important that our audiences know that for a fact, when someone goes with the mask, goes against the mask, it means something. It ups the stakes."

During the match, Escobar ripped Lee's mask at the eye, though the luchador ultimately kept the covering on his face, hiding his identity. Escobar praised the Survivor Series crowd in Chicago and said the city is like Mexico when it comes to how passionate the fans are. He said when he tore Lee's mask, he could feel the "white heat."

Lee nobly stepped in for Carlito, who was laid out twice by Escobar, and "injured" on an episode of "WWE SmackDown." Rather than cancel the match, Lee told "SmackDown" General Manager Nick Aldis he would fight Escobar. 

Following Survivor Series, Escobar has been involved in the tournament for a shot at Logan Paul's United States Championship and is set to face Bobby Lashley in the semi-finals.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Wrestling With Freddie" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.