Santino Marella was one of the seven performers released by the WWE on a day dubbed as ‘Black Friday’ by many fans. The superstar had retired two years ago only to come back on a part-time basis until his release a week ago, that shocked him.
But throughout his career in the WWE, it is an undeniable fact that he became one of the most hilariously endearing characters of all time. He was an underdog and a jobber you always got behind and admired the heart he had to portray such a lovable loser of a character.
And this very persona came to be made because of the many great moments he’s given to the WWE Universe. Here are 5 of them.
5: The Hilarious Heel
Before Heath Slater became everybody’s favorite jobber to look forward to during the build up to Raw 1000, Santino Marella was sort of acing that role being the one getting pummeled by legends, playing the cocky heel which was just too ridiculously comical to watch. He had this shtick of pronouncing their names incorrectly or their catchphrases and not giving two cents about their legendary status until they gave him a beating.
So, it was much refreshing and impactful when Chris Jericho made his return in 2007 and used Marella’s own tactics to get one over the Italian. It was a ridiculously hilarious segment. Also, 2007 also marks the year where WWE had one of its most hilarious pairings in Maria Kanellis and Marella. Remember the time they felt the wrath of Stone Cold’s beer truck?
Just watch him build up to that heel momentum and insult Austin’s film ‘The Condemned’. It’s funny and it’s glorious to watch his expressions the moment Stone Cold does turn up.
4: Blink and Miss
7 years ago, Santino Marella made his name rise and shine and imprint itself in the channels of history by officially becoming the man with the shortest Rumble appearance at 1.9 seconds. He entered the Rumble with some vintage Marella gusto and got eliminated by Kane in more than a split second.
For anyone, this may just not be something to behold as a great moment in their career but the this was just so perfect for a character that Santino played. No harm done. Marella played up the moment so well that this has to be one of the most memorable moments in his career.
3: Champion!
Back when Cena and The Rock had begun their much over-hyped feud, there came a moment that stealthily crept out and managed to steal the show in Cena’s own hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. Santino Marella faced Jack Swagger for the United States Championship at a time when Swagger had his Real American gimmick and this happened on the heels of Teddy Long and John Laurinaitis feud.
Much as anything or everything surrounding this remained uninteresting but Marella’s victory was a major boost in this feud’s momentum going into WrestleMania. Also, just hear and watch the crowd react to this surprise victory.
2: An Almost Upset
Santino Marella has always been adored by the audience and despite knowing that he won’t win the big time matches that he seldom would find himself to be in, it’s still a feel- good moments when he does pose a threat to a big fish in the pond.
The biggest feel-good moment came when he became one of the final two men left in the Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship. He and Daniel Bryan were the last two left and the build up to this match saw Marella channeling his inner Rocky spirit. He did not win but boy, did he make you believe that he just might pull of another big upset.
1: The Milan Miracle
If the phrase ‘First Impressions is the last’ hold true then this moment is it. Marella’s debut speaks louder than ever of how his character eventually panned out to be. He was ‘one of us’. The moment he was chosen by Vince McMahon amidst an audience in Milan, Italy to face Umaga, the home crowd was firmly behind him celebrating each of his ardent confidence and ridiculous antics.
They celebrated the guts he had to look death in the face and laugh at it. It was clear that he’ll be pummeled by Umaga. But Bobby Lashley helped him against all odds to not only defeat Umaga but win the Intercontinental title on his debut. This was aptly dubbed as the ‘Milan Miracle’. And the rest is history.
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