Nic Nemeth had nothing but praise for Mike Santana after his surprise WWE NXT return/debut, saying the move appears like a natural fit.
Santana, who got here up short against Nemeth within the TNA World Championship match at Slammiversary 2026, made an instantaneous impact after the fundamental event by officially “crossing the road.” Appearing from the gang, he confronted NXT World Champion Tony D’Angelo, signaling his arrival in a significant way.
Speaking on a recent edition of the “Busted Open Radio” podcast, Nemeth said he was genuinely excited to see Santana make the jump. He described Santana as someone who proudly represented TNA throughout his run and praised him not only as a talented performer but additionally as an excellent person outside the ring.
In line with Nemeth, Santana’s move to NXT simply feels right, adding that the brand appears to be the right place for him at this stage of his profession.
You may try some highlights from the podcast below:
On Mike Santana: “For the last two months, I even have been singing the praises of Santana and what he was doing for TNA and carrying the flag and representing TNA because the champion, a fighting champion. Someone who wears his heart on his sleeve and the emotions are there and it’s very easy for fans to get behind him… He’s modified his life for his daughter, his family, and it’s like, man. I’m attempting to fight this guy and hate his guts and I am going, ‘I’m behind you.’”
On Santana’s NXT return/debut: “Then he shows up on NXT and I cannot stress enough how that just seems right. It just seems straight away, this time and place, Santana showing up at NXT, after the fundamental event, taking a look at the champ, I am going, ‘That is the right time for him to hit NXT, possibly run that rattling place.’”
Kurt Angle has admitted that he was removed from glad when WWE drafted him to its ECW brand in 2006, believing on the time that the move was a step backward in his profession.
The Olympic gold medalist and WWE Hall of Famer was chosen for the relaunched ECW brand throughout the 2006 WWE Draft. Shortly after arriving, he challenged Rob Van Dam for the ECW World Championship in June, but his run on the brand proved to be temporary.
Just two months later, in August 2006, Angle was granted his WWE release, bringing his short ECW stint to an end.
Speaking on a re-released episode of WWE Photo Shoot that was recently uploaded to the WWE Vault YouTube channel, Angle reflected on his initial response to being assigned to ECW, revealing that he viewed the move as a demotion when it first happened.
You may try some highlights from the interview below:
On being moved to ECW: “I remember when Vince wanted to begin ECW back up again, and I didn’t really know what his plans were for it. I used to be his best wrestler; I knew that. I mean, if you’re talking about thoroughbred in-ring wrestling. ECW, principally, was all about hardcore wrestling. Vince wanted me to be the face of it and I felt like this was a demotion. I got very bitter.”
On his response to being told he was going to ECW: “And I remember him saying, ‘Listen, I’m going to inform you the reality upfront. You’re going to make less money and also you’re going to work in smaller arenas.’ And I said, ‘Why the hell do I need to do this?’”
On how he views it on reflection: “I look back now, perhaps what Vince was attempting to do was make me the brand new age Tazz, because Tazz was a thoroughbred wrestler as well. He carried that company pretty much. But I didn’t understand it on the time, and this was very hard for me to just accept.”
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