On September 15, 2008, Escobar performed in a dark match prior to Raw, defeating Gene Snitsky by pinfall. The following week, on September 22, he performed against Tommy Dreamer, prior to the WWE SmackDown tapings. On February 17, 2009, he wrestled against Jimmy Wang Yang before SmackDown. He continued working with Yang on subsequent dates, performing jobs on March 17, 2009, prior to SmackDown's 500th episode, the August 3 edition of WWE Superstars and August 4 SmackDown show. Escobar then entered a feud with Santino Marella during one of WWE's Latin American tours, trading victories. On September 28, 2009, he performed in his last dark match against Primo Colón, losing by pinfall.
The following night, he made his debut on the main roster. He was placed in an angle with Vickie Guerrero and performed as a heel, during the tapings of SmackDown's 10th Anniversary show. In his in-ring debut, he defeated Matt Hardy by pinfall, receiving a spot in the brand's team for WWE Bragging Rights. In his debut for the WWE Superstars, he was teamed with Drew McIntyre and defeated the tag team of Hardy and R-Truth. On October 23, 2009, Escobar was one of five wrestlers removed from Team SmackDown of Bragging Rights. On November 27, 2009, Escobar lost to John Morrison for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The angle with Guerrero was ended when she yelled at him and slapped him in the face, prompting a physical confrontation between the two, which ultimately ended with Escobar turning face.
During his face run, Escobar was punished by Guerrero, who put Escobar in handicap matches against the Hart Dynasty (David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd) and Jeri-Show (Chris Jericho and Big Show). On December 18, Escobar wrestled in his final WWE match, losing to Kane in what was another punishment for Escobar by Guerrero. On January 17, 2010, he was released from his WWE contract.