Mike Santana is a professional wrestler currently signed to TNA. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in New York City to discuss his TNA return and how quickly it came together, not winning the World Championship at Slammiversary and speaking to the fans after, his WWE debut in NXT, getting to work with Shawn Michaels, his ultimate dream match, battling addiction, how close he came to signing with WWE back in 2019 and more! MIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://trymiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal 👉 https://nordvpn.com/cvv Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! 00:00 Intro 00:59 Mike Santana's TNA return after 5 years 02:43 Splitting with his tag team partner Ortiz 05:46 Why did he decide to leave AEW? 08:52 Breaking out as a singles star 09:39 His physical transformation 16:59 Wrestling for the TNA Championship at Slammiversary 2025 18:46 Feeling afraid when he got his AEW release 22:25 How going to rehab changed his life 28:51 What would winning the TNA World Championship mean to him? 33:54 TNA fans seeing his entire wrestling journey 37:40 His Eddie Guerrero tribute at TNA Sacrifice 40:52 Making his WWE debut in NXT 43:01 Working with Shawn Michaels in NXT 44:35 WWE and TNA's partnership 46:47 Wanting a dream match with AJ Styles 48:35 Being proud of TNA for filling up the UBS arena 49:51 Why did he and Ortiz choose AEW over WWE in 2019 53:42 Was he close to signing with WWE in 2024? 56:17 Does he still talk to Ortiz? 58:14 Learning to control the controllable in life 01:03:25 Who does he see now when he looks in the mirror? 01:04:17 3 things Mike Santana is grateful for Subscribe to http://youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet Listen to "Insight with Chris Van Vliet": https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com Get awesome CVV t-shirts & merch: https://teespring.com/stores/chris-van-vliet Email me: cvv@chrisvanvliet.com Follow me on Instagram: http://instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Like me on Facebook: http://facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet #tnawrestling #nxt #mikesantana #chrisvanvliet #BlueWireVideo