Santino Marella celebrates after beating Jack Swagger in a house show | Image Credits : IMAGO / Photo News
Sportshadow got the opportunity to interact with former two-time WWE Intercontinental Champion and current TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella as a part of its Wrestleshadow podcast series.
In Part 3 of the interview, the Milan Miracle shares his thoughts on his alter ego Santina Marella, his current role as TNA Director of Authority, AJ Styles, and his daughter Arianna Grace.
Here are the edited excerpts for clarity.
"It was only supposed to be for one day at WrestleMania, but Vince laughed so hard that she lasted for three months. Unfortunately, it required a lot of makeup; I learned that women go through a lot of preparation to get ready!"
"It was a challenge because it added layers to the performance. I had to speak with an accent while playing a character who was playing another character. It was some of my best work."
"Once you have the voice and the character down, you can rehearse, but when you're doing it live in the moment, it’s going to be a little bit different anyway. But there are definitely some funny pre-tapes."
"There’s one backstage with Vickie Guerrero, Chavo, Rosa Mendes, and Beth Phoenix. They were trying to tempt me to expose that I was a man by having Rosa try to kiss me. It was funny because Santina declared she was a lesbian, and that was why she was attracted to women in that segment."
"It’s another example of something you probably couldn't do today, but back then, it was still allowed to be considered funny."
"We ended up with three months of it before she was fired by Donald Trump."
"He can come to TNA. That would put a lot of eyes on the company and the product. You want wrestling to become mainstream again, like it was when I was a kid."
"Back then, every kid knew Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, Jimmy Hart, and Roddy Piper. I don't know if every kid in school knows our roster now, but I would like to get to that level."
"It’s definitely less physical. The travel is equally demanding, and to be honest, that’s the hardest part—the sitting, the hotels, the rental cars, and waiting backstage."
"For example, if you fly out for a Thursday live show and fly home Friday, you’ve spent three days traveling for maybe ten minutes of work."
"That part is the same, but I don't have to have those grueling matches anymore. I’m saving my body for significant or special moments instead of wrestling every week."
"Nothing planned, but I’d love to do another Bloodsport match, an NXT match, or a TNA match. If they allow me to go to MLW, I’d like a match there—just one here and there."
"That way I can train for them specifically. Like in MMA, they might fight two or three times a year, so you focus on one specific event."
"That would be amazing. I know TNA has a special place in his heart because that’s where he started, debuted, and became a household name. Maybe we’ll see him around more."
"Oh man, I don't want to hold him back by having a special moment with him! He’s too incredible. I don't know if I could keep up with a guy like that, but if it makes sense, you never know."
"If I see a technical mistake, I’ll give my thoughts after a match, but I’m not involved in the creative writing. We have writers who do a fantastic job. I was producing pre-tapes and matches, but I’m on-screen too much right now to do both."
"I’ll do as much on-screen work as I can for now, and when I’m no longer a character, I’d love to produce, coach, and contribute to the future."
"When I was in WWE, I didn't go to production meetings. I would show up at the talent call time, and a producer would tell me what my segment was."
"Now with TNA, I sit in the production meetings. I’ve learned more about the creative process since being in TNA, and it’s made me much more well-rounded regarding what I can contribute to the industry."
"I actually brought it up first. She finished university with a degree in biology, and I asked her, "What’s next?" I said, "Do you want to do this? Because it’s pretty damn fun."
"You get to travel the world, entertain, and get paid for it." She didn't think she would be able to do it physically; she thought everyone had to be a world-class superstar athlete. I told her, "Not everybody is Sol Ruca.""
"Observing her as an athlete growing up—she did boxing, field hockey, and swimming—I knew she had the athleticism. Once she believed in herself and became the hardest worker in the room, she excelled."
"She still has a great work ethic. It’s going to be fun to watch her have her time over the next several years."
"We’ve been working together quite a bit lately, but the first time was really cool. Even the first pre-tape we did was historic. When we had our tag team match, it was even more historic as the first father-daughter combo in a major North American company."
"I knew it would happen one day, just not this fast. If it wasn't for the relationship between NXT and TNA, this never would have happened. That partnership helped me a lot personally."
This is an exclusive interview by Sportshadow. Media outlets using quotes from this article are requested to provide a backlink to this article or the website's homepage alongside embedding the video interview published on Youtube.