Santos Escobar Rejoins WWE After Brief Free Agent Period

Santos Escobar has rejoined WWE days after his contract lapsed, ending a brief period as a free agent and bringing to a close a week of industry speculation about the SmackDown star's future. Reports say his previous deal expired at midnight on October 6, and the company and Escobar reached a new agreement late Tuesday after negotiations that centered on creative direction and compensation.

People familiar with the discussions said WWE responded to Escobar's concerns about his role by offering a substantially larger contract and outlines for clearer creative plans, prompting him to sign. The new deal was finalized before the end of the week, though there has been no official announcement from the company and WWE's roster page still listed Escobar as an alumnus in some versions of the public directory as of Wednesday. Escobar himself posted a short message on social media during the period he was briefly a free agent, captioning a video with "PALANTE!!!" and later shared promotional photographs in which he wore a mask.

The move reverses earlier reports that Escobar had declined WWE offers and planned to test free agency. During the gap, multiple promotions were said to have...