Santos Escobar hasn't been seen on "WWE Raw" or "WWE SmackDown" since re-signing with the company back in October, after briefly letting his contract lapse, and now, it doesn't seem like he'll be at one of WWE's biggest events of the year. According to PWInsider Elite, Escobar is not currently in Saudi Arabia for the Royal Rumble.
According to PWIE, Escobar is slated for the weekend's "WWE NXT" live events following his return to the ring in Mexico for AAA during the promotion's debut on FOX in Latin America. The outlet reported that Escobar is replacing Grayson Waller at the live events, though PWIE had not heard if that meant that Waller was heading to Riyadh for the Rumble. That decision was reportedly being made for the former A-Town Down Under member on Wednesday.
Creative frustrations were reportedly a reason as to why Escobar did not initially re-sign with WWE back in October, despite being offered a lucrative deal. Escobar entered free agency, but it was revealed the following day he had signed with WWE once again, thanks to an even more lucrative offer. At the time, Dave Meltzer reported that Escobar's creative frustrations were going to be addressed.
Escobar returned to AAA to attack AAA Latin American Champion El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. in the ring. Escobar appeared in a mask similar to his father's, El Fantasma, but revealed himself during a promo after knocking the champion down and grabbing the belt. The luchador then cut a promo in a video posted to WWE's social media and said after six months away, it was his time now.
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Read the original article on Wrestling Inc.
