For quite a while now, there have been whispers that WWE wants to find the “next Rey Mysterio”.

He didn’t criticize anyone who was tagged with that label (and it’s worth wondering if there could be a “next Rey Mysterio”, if it’s an appointment or a fair target, etc). But even before he signed with WWE in 2019, many of us were pointing to Santos Escobar and saying, “There’s your next Latino superstar.”

Just as he did in CMLL & AAA as El Hijo del Fantasma and in Lucha Underground as King Cuerno, the second generation luchador made the most of everything WWE gave him. On NXT and SmackDown, this was mostly a heel guard in the upper mid card. It’s the kind of place we often see wrestler grumbles on social media, or anonymously to the dirt sheets, but I can’t recall a rumor about Escobar’s complaint (not wanting to get out of his LU contract after the show was canceled. Count… that was some luck).

If anyone in WWE deserves to be the “next Rey Mysterio,” it’s the leader of Legado del Fantasma. And in this digital exclusive from WWE, captured after the two men shared several moments in the ring during their number one Intercontinental Title rivalry, Fatal 4Way last night (February 11), they share a moment backstage.

Sharing stories about every man’s lucha libre heritage before showing the ultimate respect by sharing masks? It seems that this could be the beginning of the passage of the torch. Escobar’s performance here is also the latest sign that he’s ready to do more on WWE TV, whether that involves being the “next Rey Mysterio” or not.

Even if nothing else happened, this was an absolutely amazing moment.