Santos Escobar is happy. His dog, Fifi, trots across the screen in the opening couple of minutes of the interview, and he grabs her for a cuddle. ‘This is my baby,’ he explains.

It’s a life of eating his vegetables, doing his job to the best of his ability, and enjoying himself for Escobar. It seems simple, having progressed through the ranks at NXT, now on the main roster in WWE and leading villainous stable Legado Del Fantasma.

Escobar isn’t a young wrestler. Life may be easier now, but he is 40 years old and had to fight to get to where he is. Not that he didn’t enjoy that process either.

His story focuses around Mexico, just across the boarder from where he lives and operates now in the United States. He was born in Acapulco de Juarez and has a major in international relations, but chose the life of lucha libre.

Having wrestled for the likes of Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide in his home country, he made the jump to America and finally arrived at WWE. And big part of his stint there has been working with the greatest luchador of them all; Rey Mysterio.

‘Amazing,’ Escobar describes their time working together, which ranged from February 2023 to April 2024. ‘It was awesome. It was a year of actually being on the road with Rey, me and him.

‘I learned a lot from him, on a personal level, of course, but on a professional level.’

On-screen, they are now the worst of enemies. But off it, very good friends. After appearing together one or two times during Escobar’s days in NXT, they began working together on SmackDown, their storyline surrounding Rey being an inspiration.

They re-formed the famous LWO alongside Zelina Vega, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz Del Toro and, at the time, Carlito. Pop sensation Bad Bunny had a stint too. A group with history, and it came with responsibility.

Eventually, Escobar would turn on his friends, leading to a rivalry with them and Rey.

‘We got the opportunity to to end the rivalry at WrestleMania,’ Escobar adds. ‘That’s what you want, working in the business.

‘You want to have rivalries, you want to be interesting to the audiences, you want to capture the hearts and minds of your fans. But you also want to be invited to this big show, to this this party.

‘Having the opportunity to work with Rey Mysterio, Hall of Famer and all round bada**. It was awesome. I loved it. And finally, working with him at WrestleMania, it was just an incredible experience for me. I cherish those moments, and hopefully I will work with him again. Who knows?’

Then there’s Dominik Mysterio. Rey’s real life son – but the biggest bad guy in the business on TV. He and Escobar joined forces against a common enemy, and the veteran was impressed.

‘Dom is awesome,’ he says. He’s a natural. His in-ring IQ is off the charts.

‘I had the opportunity to work against him when we first became the LWO, at the height of the his rivalry with his dad, and, to be honest, he was fairly green, but his growth has been exponential. He is truly the future of this sport. He’s the present.

‘He’s everywhere, and I think that pairing him with The Judgment Day was was the right decision. I think he has grown a lot with them and I think he’s ready for the biggest things of the industry.’

So what’s next? Life under the ‘inspiring’ Triple H – one of Escobar’s idols, he explains – is good. The motivation is as high as it’s ever been. Soon, a trip to the UK for a live event in Manchester is on the cards. ‘I’m looking forward to being there again and hearing all the members of the WWE Universe in the UK sing “Just sold my car to Santos Escobar”, he laughs.

But he’s also targeting another location. UFC has lit up the combat and production world with shows in the Sphere, most recently in mid-September for UFC 306.

The Sphere is an arena like no other. The type of show it allows for regarding pictures, scenery and colours is unique and, given the promotion’s recent partnership with WWE, the venue could host wrestling some time soon.

‘I think it will happen,’ Escobar says. ‘I think the first time I saw the sphere, the only thing I could think of was WWE in it. That’s the perfect venue for WWE.

‘Talk about an immersive experience. It already is an immersive experience to attend a WWE show, but doesn’t matter if it’s a TV show, a PLE or a live show, it’s immersive. You participate, you partake in it, but to have your surroundings be part of the show as well… I can’t wait, and I hope I’m on that card when that happens.’

Tickets for WWE Live in Manchester on Wednesday, October 16th, are available now from Ticketmaster.co.uk