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Beth Phoenix has recalled the moment she asked WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to pair her with Santino Marella on WWE television.
The WWE Hall of Famer formed an on-screen relationship with Marella in July 2008. The most memorable moment from their one-year storyline came at WrestleMania XXV when Marella (a.k.a. Santina) won a 25-Diva Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal.
Speaking in a bonus clip from her WWE Icons documentary, Phoenix said her partnership with Marella was her idea. The three-time Women’s Champion pitched the storyline to Vince McMahon, who approved the idea one week later:
“I wrote a one-page idea for this dynamic between myself and Santino kind of having a romance on the show, and I walked into Vince’s office and I gave Vince the idea and I said, ‘I’d really like to do this. This is something that I feel strongly about. I think we can make some money with this, Vince.’ He goes, ‘Thank you for your thoughts.’ The next week, Vince comes up to me and sees me. He goes, ‘We’re gonna go with your idea.’”
Phoenix said her association with Marella was the favorite time of her WWE career. The Glamazon left WWE in 2012 after eight years with Vince McMahon's company. She now works as an NXT commentator and an occasional in-ring performer.
Beth Phoenix proved Vince McMahon was right to agree with her idea
One month after their storyline began, Beth Phoenix and Santino Marella defeated Mickie James and Kofi Kingston at WWE SummerSlam 2008. As a result of the victory, Phoenix became the new WWE Women’s Champion and Marella won the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
During her alliance with Marella, Phoenix won the 2008 WWE Diva of the Year award. She also emerged as the sole survivor of the Team RAW vs. Team SmackDown women’s elimination match at WWE Survivor Series 2008.
The last major moment from the storyline came at WWE Backlash 2009 when Marella defeated Phoenix in three seconds to retain his Miss WrestleMania status.
Please credit WWE Icons and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
