Santino Marella celebrates with Vladimir Kozlov | Image Credits : IMAGO / Panoramic by PsnewZ
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 2 of the interview, the Milan Miracle shares his thoughts on Mr Iguana, the longevity of a comic career in professional wrestling, the infamous Akon diss rap, and partnerships with Vladimir Kozlov and Beth Phoenix.
Here are the edited excerpts for clarity.
"He’s great, actually. He’s a really good wrestler, very funny, and very athletic. I wrestled against him last year and we had a very fun match. He’s just a fun guy to be around."
"I wish him success moving forward and who knows? Maybe we’ll work together again or be a tag team. He’s a really nice guy; he even sent my son an iguana in the mail, which I thought was really nice of him."
"Actually, back in OVW, I played a Russian character. When Vladimir Kozlov got hired and came to OVW, we worked together as "The Russians." I was a Russian character on Friday, flew to Italy on Saturday, arrived Sunday, and debuted on Monday. Right up until I became Santino, I was Boris."
"We were friends, but in this business, there are peaks and valleys. You’ll have a big storyline, then maybe nothing for a few months before another featured story. I knew I was in a bit of an "alley," so to speak, and that’s when you have to get creative."
"You have to pitch ideas instead of waiting for the writers to come up with something for you. I pitched a team with Vladimir Kozlov and me; they tested our dynamics, liked it, and put us together."
"The dance-off was one of the things the writers just did. He actually won the dance-off, if you remember. He was prepared. I didn't think he would be, but since I was a big babyface at the time and he won, it was awesome. It really set us in motion as a team."
"I remember reading an article by Lance Storm where he talked about me doing the comedy thing. He said that while comedy guys aren't usually in the hunt for the title, a comedy role has longevity."
"Every show needs comic relief between two serious storylines to lighten things up. It’s like eating sushi; you need the ginger between bites. Nobody was really challenging me for that comedy role at the time, so I held it down for ten years."
"I didn't train to be a comedic wrestler, but the job and the opportunity were there. It is an honor and a privilege to be there, so I was very grateful to assume that role."
"I grew up in a place where everyone's parents were immigrants. English was not their first language, so when they said certain expressions, they said them incorrectly or in a funny way."
"I had lots of material around me my entire life. My neighbors were Greek, Croatian, Korean, Italian, and Portuguese. I basically had "Santinos" all around me growing up. Sometimes the things I say on TV are little tributes to my friends and their parents. I had an abundance of material."
"Brian Gewirtz wrote that. Santino was a little rude at the time, and that was when I just started calling people by the wrong names (like "Acorn"). That was all Brian. It’s a memorable rap, and because Akon is such a big celebrity, the clip went viral."
"I don’t think anyone told him that my character messes up names all the time, so he was probably more confused than insulted."
"We had intergender matches back then. I wrestled Beth, Mickie James, and Maria. It seems like another time because you can’t really do that anymore. I knew Beth from OVW; she’s an amazing person—brilliant, hardworking, and kind."
"She was between storylines as well, so she pitched the idea to Vince first, then asked me what I thought. I told her it would be great. When you have someone outgoing and comedic, you need a "straight person" to play off of."
"Kozlov served a similar role, and Beth was also very serious and straight-faced. They complemented each other."
"Back then, the women's division could be stressful because there were only one or two matches on TV. It was a high-stress environment with everyone fighting for those spots."
"But when we were doing our storyline, Beth really enjoyed it because she was removed from that stress. She looks back fondly on those times because it was actually really fun."
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