Courtesy WWE.
While his language barrier mishaps and comical in-ring demeanor are what most people think of when they hear the name Santino Marella, it’s easy to overlook the Milan Miracle’s reigns as Intercontinental, United States and Tag Team Champion. And after recently teaming with Zack Ryder to form Team Co-Bro, Marella’s chances of advancing to the tag team tournament finals at Hell in a Cell seemed promising given Co-Bro’s first-round win over Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel. Unfortunately for Marella, Co-Bro fell to the Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow) to be eliminated from the tournament. But Marella still hopes his cobra will have a chance to strike at the pay-per-view, and recently talked to Wrestling with Pop Culture about that possibility, among other things.
You’re not scheduled for any matches at Hell in a Cell. Do you think there’s any chance of you being part of this pay-per-view?
I was hoping to be in the finals of the tag team tournament with Zack Ryder, but…
I was sorry to see how that turned out for Team Co-Bro. I’m also sorry to see yet another Hell in a Cell pay-per-view without Santino Marella on the card.
I do not have a rich history with this pay-per-view, but this has been a great year for me. In 2012, I’ve been on every pay-per-view this year! So I definitely hope I’m involved at Hell in a Cell because I want to keep the streak going. It’s also a very prestigious pay-per-view because always something special happens at this pay-per-view, something that’s going to blow your mind. That’s the job of this pay-per-view, that’s the goal. There’s always something very shocking and that’s why I want to be part of it because I want to see history in the making.
With Hell in a Cell being in Atlanta, it’s fun to recall almost a year ago when Raw was in Atlanta with the Muppets. And you actually got some help from Beaker…
Yes. That was, for me, one of the most memorable things I have ever seen. It was right up there with when I met Bob Barker because the Muppets are not just a piece of Americana, that’s an icon for the world. Every country knows the Muppets. They’re the originators. It puts me in the feeling of when I was little boy. Everyone likes that nostalgic feeling to feel like a kid again. The Muppets were amazing.
Courtesy WWE.
Beaker gave me potion and this potion was to give me super strength and speed. But I could not swallow it because it tasted so bad I thought maybe it was wrong one, maybe it was poison. So I spit it out in the face of Jack Swagger. It was accident, actually. He spun me around and I spit at the same time. And from spitting it in the face, I was able to roll him up and beat him. It wasn’t, I’m sure, what Beaker intended. But it got the job done.
WWE has made a point of holding big events in Atlanta over the past several years. How do you think your personality and wrestling style fare with Southern audiences like the ones in Atlanta?
In that part of the country, the fans are so passionate and so crazy and we always love to come there. When the fans are so crazy, they elevate us and make us put on a better show. The louder they get, the more we go crazy, then the louder they get in return and there’s just this circulating energy that goes back and forth. I’m telling you, the feeling and atmosphere in the arena is second to none. We love coming there.
Do you think you might try to talk to any Atlanta icons for Santino’s Foreign Exhange while you’re in Atlanta?
I would like to go to the Georgia Aquarium because I heard the aquarium is very nice. There’s a restaurant we usually go to close to the airport called the Spondivits and we like to get the steamed bucket. I know that’s not a real icon, but we enjoy Atlanta. I’m going to try to steal the show if I can. I hope I don’t get arrested for stealing.