Why Mike Santana Chose New Name, Raquel Reacts to IC Title Win, WWE Rumors on Charlotte-Jade Cargill

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Santana Reveals Inspiration Behind Cruz Montana Name

Former TNA and AEW star Mike Santana revealed his new ring name Monday after signing with WWE, and provided some context behind it.

In a post on X, Santana explained that the "Cruz Montana" name was chosen to honor his late father:

Santana also posted a video on X in which he confirmed the Cruz Montana name and set the stage for an appearance Tuesday on NXT:

At the end of last week's episode of NXT, Montana showed up following Tony D'Angelo's successful NXT Championship defense against Naraku, and he immediately established himself as a contender for the title.

Initially making a name for himself as a tag team wrestler alongside Ortiz in TNA and AEW, Montana proved during his most recent AEW stint that he has what it takes to thrive in singles competition as well.

Montana held the TNA World Championship twice and impressed in a handful of WWE appearances he made in NXT as part of the working relationship between WWE and TNA.

Now, Montana is a full-fledged member of WWE, and he will look to make a new name for himself after going by the Santana moniker for many years in other promotions.

Not surprisingly, the Cruz Montana name received its fair share of criticism on social media after it was revealed, but if he performs at a high level in NXT like he did in TNA, then Montana should be a success regardless of what his name is.

Raquel, Judgment Day Comment on IC Title Win

Raquel Rodriguez became a singles champion for the first time on WWE's main roster on Monday night by beating Sol Ruca for the Women's Intercontinental Championship on Raw.

Rodriguez and fellow Judgment Day members Liv Morgan and JD McDonagh all reacted to the victory with a series of social media posts on Monday night:

Raquel took a shot to the face early in her match against Ruca and may have suffered a broken nose, as blood poured down her face.

Despite that, Rodriguez battled through it and turned in an admirable performance against one of the best young stars the WWE women's division has to offer.

Not surprisingly, multiple Judgment Day members got involved in the match, as did Iyo Sky, who is set to challenge Morgan for the Women's World Championship at SummerSlam this weekend.

Although Sky attempted to even the odds, the numbers game worked in The Judgment Day's favor, and Raquel took advantage by hitting Ruca with a Tejana Bomb for arguably the biggest win of her career.

Now, The Judgment Day enter SummerSlam with a ton of momentum on their side ahead of Morgan's title defense against Sky and Dominik Mysterio's match against Danhausen.

Why Flair vs. Cargill Was Reportedly Removed from SummerSlam

WWE reportedly had a specific reason for going away from an anticipated singles match between Charlotte Flair and Jade Cargill at SummerSlam.

Flair and Cargill have been at odds for weeks, but rather than pitting them against each other in a singles bout, they will both be part of a five-woman ladder match at SummerSlam to determine the interim WWE women's champion.

According to Joey Votes of WrestleVotes on Fightful Select (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), it is likely that Charlotte vs. Jade is no longer happening because the plan is for one of them to win the ladder match.

Votes noted that Tiffany Stratton was originally slated to defend the Women's United States Championship against Blake Monroe at SummerSlam as well, but that was also pulled so that Stratton could be part of the ladder match.

As former champs, Flair, Cargill and Stratton are all legitimate candidates to become interim WWE women's champion, which would then make them the first opponent for WWE women's champion Rhea Ripley upon her return from injury.

Ripley has some level of history with all of them, so there is at least some doubt regarding which one of them will come out on top.

If it is either Flair or Cargill, they could then branch off into a feud of their own over the interim title after SummerSlam, and the winner of that rivalry would then take on Ripley down the line.