Former champion to be kicked out of his faction following SmackDown? Exploring potential twist

Friday Night SmackDown has some of the most talented factions in WWE. One such faction is the Legado Del Fantasma, led by Santos Escobar. While each member in this faction is working their way up to success, the group could soon lose Angel Garza.

On the blue brand's latest episode, Garza was seen approaching Andrade who was just making his way to the arena. The LDF member, who once used to team up with El Idolo, told him that he'd put in a good word for the 34-year-old with Escobar and that Legado Del Fantasma was ready to welcome him.

However, Andrade refused the offer and later wrestled Apollo Crews in a singles match on SmackDown. During this match, Angel Garza made an interruption, distracted Crews, which led to Andrade winning. After his victory, the Legado Del Fantasma walked out to welcome Andrade, but the latter walked past them.

This action by the former AEW star annoyed Santos Escobar, who was also frustrated with Angel. Hence, if Garza is unable to convince Andrade or ends up losing any upcoming matches, he could be expelled from the faction. However, this could also potentially lead to a reunion with Andrade.

SmackDown superstar Andrade sends a message to Legado Del Fantasma after rejecting them

The Legado Del Fantasma looking to recruit Andrade is not a surprise, after all, not only is the latter Mexican, but he is also one of the most talented wrestlers on SmackDown. At the age of 34, Andrade has plenty of experience which could prove to be valuable for the growth of the faction.

Hence, this could be the reason why the LDF is ready to forget what happened at WrestleMania 40 and move on. Andrade had teamed up with Rey Mysterio to fight Santos Escobar and Dominik Mysterio at The Grandest Stage of Them All and ended up beating them.

However, Andrade has been a tough nut to crack. Despite two attempts to recruit him on SmackDown's recent episode, the Mexican does not seem interested. After the end of the show though, Andrade sent out a message to Legado Del Fantasma on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), saying it wasn't personal.

"It is not personal!"

Check out the former United States Champion's tweet below:

Expand Tweet

Personal or not, Santos Escobar is not going to handle this rejection well. It will be interesting to see if he continues to pursue Andrade, or whether he ends up feuding with him.

About the author

Varun is a Golf and WWE journalist for Sportskeeda with over 4 years of work experience in his bag. Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he worked for many sites, including EssentiallySports, FanSided, Khel Now, Get Football, and a few others.

Varun is a fan of golfer Scottie Scheffler due to the latter’s mindset, and he admires Roman Reigns’ ability to keep moving forward in life regardless of any obstacles. As a purist golf fan, he would love to compete at the Masters if given the opportunity, but is also happy with LIV Golf driving more eyeballs towards the sport. If he could go back in time and be a manager for someone in the WWE, it would have been Big Show.

Varun’s mantra for writing factually correct feature articles is thorough verification. Another key element in his writing is staying updated with both sports through the official websites of pro wrestling and Golf. He has had the privilege of interviewing MMA legend Greg Jackson in his career so far.

Varun likes to spend his free time reading or writing poetry and fiction. He also plans to learn and play golf in his spare time.

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Edited by Sayantan Niyogi