Santos Escobar Makes In-Ring Return After WWE Release

Romeo Malverde, formerly Santos Escobar, wrestled his first match in more than six months on Sunday in Ciudad Juárez.

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Santos Escobar Makes In-Ring Return After WWE Release

Santos Escobar is officially back in the ring. The former WWE star, who now goes by Romeo Malverde, wrestled his first match in more than six months on Sunday, September 27.

Malverde competed at the 5th International Lucha Libre Festival in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, teaming with Blue Demon Jr. to face Magno and Steven Juárez in the main event. It was also billed as Blue Demon Jr.’s final match in the border city.

The festival offered free admission, more than 15 matches and roughly 10 hours of programming. For Malverde, however, the match mainly marked the end of a long recovery.

He had last wrestled on March 14, when he was still working as Santos Escobar and faced La Parka and both versions of El Grande Americano in the final of AAA’s Rey de Reyes tournament.

Escobar had triceps surgery after that match. In April, a complication involving his ulnar nerve forced a second operation, keeping him out of action from that point on.

Escobar was also among those cut in WWE’s April round of releases. His departure came on April 24, a few days after his second surgery.

In July, after his 90-day non-compete clause expired, Escobar officially became a free agent and introduced Romeo Malverde as his new identity, retiring the Santos Escobar character for good.