WWE Refers To Mike Santana By Name Amidst Change Fears

Mike Santana may not be set to undergo a name change after all.

Santana made his full-time WWE debut in the closing moments of NXT following Tony D'Angelo's successful NXT Title defence against NARAKU. Santana made his entrance to his TNA theme music - which refers to him as Santana - and simply moved around the fans in attendance before posing and staring at Tony D'Angelo to close out the show.

Similar to a number of recent WWE debuts, however, Santana was not referred to by name on commentary, with Vic Joseph simply saying: "This is who Rob Stone has been on the phone with all day. D'Angelo locking eyes with the former TNA World Champion. The NXT universe is on their feet. They're stunned, they're shocked. What's going through the mind of our champion? Look who has crossed the line. It's Tony D’Angelo looking at his most realest challenge to date here in NXT."

WWE's social media accounts also did not initially identify Santana, with WWE on X/Twitter referring to him as a "new face", while the YouTube video of Santana's full-time debut simply stated, "DEVELOPING: A new Superstar emerges in shocking moment."

In a WWE post on Facebook from Wednesday evening, though, the company actually referred to Santana by name, writing: "Mike Santana makes his presence felt in his first action as an NXT Superstar. #WWENXT."

This does not necessarily mean that WWE aren't planning to change Mike Santana's name, but they have at least identified him under the moniker he has used since the latter months of his AEW stint in 2023. Prior to that, the 35-year-old had wrestled as Santana.

Mike Santana filed to trademark his name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on May 5. That application is still pending, with the current trademark processing times sitting around 10 months.

Mike Santana had been expected to head to WWE in recent months and he finished up with TNA Wrestling at Slammiversary, with Santana dropping the TNA World Championship to Nic Nemeth in the main event. Santana had been back with the promotion since April 2024 and TNA congratulated their former wrestler on his WWE debut on X/Twitter.

Santana had previously appeared on WWE NXT in the summer of 2025 as part of the brand's working relationship with TNA, with Santana at the time feuding with Trick Williams over the TNA World Title.