Santana (born February 4, 1991) and Ortiz (born September 27, 1991) are a pair of proud (and powerful) "Nuyoricans"note and one of the most notable tag-teams of the 2010s.
After some years in the indies, the team first drew attention as crucial moving pieces of LAX (Latin American X-change), a implacable alliance of latin-american wrestlers united by their shared latin culture all the way from places like Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico. There, Santana and Ortiz where showed a natural intensity, talent for violence and love for their ancestral homeland of Puerto Rico. In the promotion, they became four-time tag-team world champions.
In 2019, they joined All Elite Wrestling where they became a crucial componennt of top heel faction Inner Circle and a terror in AEW's nascent tag-team division. And they are still Proud and Powerful.
Proud And Powerful Tropes:
- Anti-Hero: Even as Faces, they're still extremely brutal and ruthless individuals.
- Arch-Enemy: They do not get along with FTR and have been on a deadly feud with them across 2021.
- Big Applesauce: Both billed from New York City.
- Blood Knight: A pair of them. They actively stated they're not going after the tag belts yet because they haven't taken the title of "best tag team" from the Young Bucks by facing them. And they're gonna keep beating up on them until they get their chance to do it.Santana: Every time we see you, it's on SIGHT. EVERY CITY. EVERY STATE. EVERY ARENA. BECAUSE THIS SHIT DON'T END HERE!
- Brooklyn Rage: Of the Puerto Rican variety.
- Catchphrase: Ortiz is very fond of screaming "THE BEST! THE BEST! THE BEST!" to refer to either himself or his allies.
- Covered in Gunge: Also victims of Orange Cassidy's orange juice assault.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Santana mentions a pretty grim and sad past in the rough side of the Bronx including his father going blind from a disease.
- Finishing Move: "Street Sweeper" (Powerbomb/Blockbuster combo).
- Green-Eyed Monster: They clearly envy the Young Bucks's fame and reputation and thus vow to bring them down.
- Heel–Face Turn: Became faces after MJF turned on the Inner Circle.
- Hot-Blooded: They're a very intense pair. Ortiz moreso than Santana, however.
- I Lied: One particularly priceless moment came in Episode 181 of Being the Elite (appropiately named "We Lied") after they were passing through backstage and appeared to be causing no problem.Ortiz: Hey, Brandon!note Guess what? WE LIED!(Santana and Ortiz proceed to beat up Brandon Cutler and everyone else)
- Nixon Mask: Showed up in a pair of them on their first night in AEW.
- Noticing the Fourth Wall: While trying to drown Matt Hardy during the Studio Stampede match at Double or Nothing 2020, a splash screen appears to the right of them showing off "MATTer of Facts" about him. They notice it and Ortiz even checks his watch to see if one of the facts is true.
- Red Baron: "The Proud and Powerful" doubles as a moniker for the two of them, with Santana being known as "The Proud" and Ortiz as "The Powerful".
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: They are both very hot-blooded, but between them Santana tends to be more collected while Ortiz is pretty much always raving and ranting.
- Sock It to Them: Ortiz often wields a loaded sock (i.e a sock full of hard marbles or baseballs or something) in the ring.
- This Means Warpaint: When the fight is truly serious, Santana & Ortiz will show up decked in a black-and-white facepaint.
