A new report indicates that the tenure of SmackDown superstar Santos Escobar with WWE may be coming to an end.
According to Fightful, the contract for the leader of Legado del Fantasma is set to expire “very soon.” The report also suggests that the current belief is that Escobar is not likely to sign a new deal to remain with the company, potentially making him one of the more high-profile free agents in the near future.
PWInsider.com reports that the deal is up at midnight, and despite making offers to keep him, Escobar turned them down. The speculation surrounding Escobar’s future was intensified by a recent social media post from the superstar himself.
On the platform X, Escobar posted an image of himself with only an hourglass emoji as the caption. This type of post is often used by professional wrestlers to signal that time is running out on their current contract, and it immediately fueled discussion among fans about a potential exit from WWE. The Fightful report could not confirm whether WWE and Escobar had entered into discussions regarding a contract extension.
Santos Escobar’s Disappearance
Despite being healthy, Escobar has been used sparingly on WWE television throughout 2025. He has competed in just three matches on SmackDown this year. His other appearances include a spot in the annual Royal Rumble match, a performance at the special “AAA x WWE Worlds Collide” event in Los Angeles, and two non-televised matches during WWE’s live events in Mexico. This brings his total number of matches for the year to just seven.
This period of inactivity came at a time when some believed the entire Legado del Fantasma faction might be poised for a larger role. Escobar’s stablemates, Los Garza, recently held the AAA World Tag Team Championship, but their reign was short-lived. After just two months, they lost the titles to the team of Pagano and Psycho Clown in a street fight at the “Triplemanía XXXIII” event. With Escobar’s contract status now in question, the future for the remaining members of the stable in WWE is unclear.
Should Escobar leave WWE, he is expected to be a highly sought-after talent on the open market. Before signing with WWE in 2019, he made a name for himself internationally under a mask as El Hijo del Fantasma. During that time, he captured numerous championships in major Mexican promotions such as CMLL and AAA. He also had a memorable run in Lucha Underground, where he held the Gift of the Gods Championship.
