Mike Santana Recalls Initial TNA Run, Sitting Under 'Learning Tree' Of Konnan

TNA's Mike Santana discussed his early days in the promotion and how Konnan played a major role in helping him learn about the industry.

Santana's TNA journey began in 2017 when he became part of the Latin American Xchange, where he was led by AAA Hall of Famer Konnan. The former TNA World Tag Team Champion spoke about the tumultuous period the company was going through in his recent appearance when he and Ortiz joined, and how Konnan helped them navigate it.

"Well, it was an interesting time, man, because there was so many transitions going on. You know, it went from Jeff Jarrett being the boss, and then from Jeff, it went to Scott D'Amore, then it went to Anthem. There was just a lot of transitions going on," he said on "The Rich Eisen Show." "But thankfully, we had someone like Konnan that, I mean, what better learning tree we could have asked to sit under at that time, especially than Konnan's, right? It was an awesome time because, again, we were learning something new, and we were placed in this high-level position, not having television experience on a bigger stage, and it was almost like that sink or swim feeling. I'm thankful because if there's anything, you know, it taught me that like [think], 'Yo, when the pressure is on, is when I'm going to do the best and do the most.'"

He called his time with LAX incredible, as he wrestled all over the world and learned not only from Konnan but also from others like Homicide and Scott D'Amore. During Santana's run in LAX, from 2017 to 2019, he was joined by the likes of Diamante, Ortiz, and Homicide, while Eddie Kingston and Low Ki were also briefly part of the group. His time with the group came to an end after he left TNA to join AEW, before returning to the promotion in 2024.