If it's done right, Santino Marella can be a capitvating character...

[It's...Baylariat!]

Besides his silly ass comedy sketches, Santino is a legit bad ass. He's a wrestler who is a Mixed Martial Arts expert as well. I would love to see him get a treatment similar to Eugene when he was at his peak.

Build some montages about him wanting to be more than a funny character and actually wanting to be a champion. He shaves his stupid unibrow, starts training and learning legit wrestling moves that don't suck, and ends up catching wrestlers by surprise.

I think this would put Santino over big time and would make for a great story. A great example would be to have Santino run in and help Cena if he was being beat down. And of course, he'd take a good ass kicking the first few seconds, then all of a sudden, you seem him turn into this ass kicking machine who uses martial arts moves, stiff punches, and even uses a submission move to subdue the adversaries. It would be an awesome story and be a great way to actually have some people be interested in the WWE more than they are right now.

What are your thoughts on this? Would a bad-ass Santino work? Or would it suck.

 

[michael.foulds]

I've thought Santino has needed repackaging for awhile now. There's been plenty of other wrestlers that were "jokes" who came back as someone who was sick of being a joke and getting put into the main event, even The Big Show did at one point.

 

[Mizfit444]

Yea, the whole Santino thing really puzzles me. He debuts out of no where, wins the IC title in his first match, only to be turned into Raw's comic relief along with Goldust and William Regal to an extent. Don't get me wrong Santino is very good at what he does, i find myself laughing at his antics more often than not, but why have him make such an impact at his debut, only to have his character turned into a joke. As far as the scenario you outline lariat i like it, but theres a little part of me that would miss the funny Santino.

 

[Whippersnapper88]

Hell yes, I have been saying since he debuted that Santino is an amazing talent, even with being a comnedy job figure. Now, I'm not saying WWE should put the world title on him, but he should always be in contention for the US/IC Title.

However, I disagree with one thing. I really believe Santino should be heel, like when he had the honky tonk meter ever week. One of the greatest wwe gimmicks gone way too soon. I mean, stars from other sports go for records (Home Runs, points, wtc...), so why shouldn't wrestlers too, being the amazing athletes they are. I would love to see a "record breaker" in Santino...

 

[longlivetheBrood]

Heck yes, and I thought that was how they were going to re-package him at one point when he would suddenly perform maneuvers and look surprised when they worked. I was thinking, 'ok, finally Santino is going to be more than a comedy jobber.' Alas it really hasn't happened yet. I like the idea of a run-in too to get it kicked off. Let it be like he snapped and all of a sudden he's a butt-kicking machine.

 

[I Suck Ass]

I completely agree with you, Lariat. They really do need to re-package him. His gimmick has worn off a lot, and Kozlov doesn't really help. Maybe a heel run. He could be like Luke Gallows, saying that he was portrayed as something he isn't.

 

[Sparky]

A bad ass Santino would work and he could go far if it wasn't for the fact he would never be given the chance. The only way the WWE at the moment would do it is if Santino ate a magic cake that turned him into a bad ass. Let's just hope they give up on the jobber angle and draft him to smackdown next year Gregory helms style and build him up to be a legit wrestler.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

Yeah I think santino like cena (but better) could be one of those guys that is a contender and funny. Rock, jericho, even angle all rocked it and made it work so he theoreticalty could. I have read a great deal of times that he is a very bad wrestler. Cut the guya a bit of slack he gets as much ring time as the bella twins

 

[Tha Wolfpac]

Santino Marella is way better than he is portrayed to be. This man deserves more than jobber status, he is very funny and charismatic, guess what he actually can wresyle pretty well but because of this tired ol comedy gimmick he isn't allowed to show his skills off. Anything got to do with rejuvenating Santino i am up for it because this man is really good and underrated, but sadly the WWE does not see that.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

You know, in all honesty, I think Santino is actually a pretty good wrestler. As has been pointed out, it's all the silly comedy shit that's overshadowed the fact that the guy is fully capable of wrestling good matches and delivering quality promos.

Santion Marella would need a MAJOR overhaul, however, in order for anyone to even remotely see him as a serious competitor. Drop the whole Italian stereotype stuff, change the hair, put in some more time in the gym, lose all the comedy stuff completely and put him in actual matches with quality opponents. Some would, no doubt, be unwilling to embrace Santino after so many years as a comedy act, but the potential the guy has is lurking right there just beneath the surface. With a little spit and polish, the guy could shine in my opinion.

 

[Dave]

IF it is done correctly, then repackaging Santino could be quite effective for the WWE.

Santino has literally become a comedy jobber for life as we all know. The problem with that is that the people now expect to be laughing at him when he appears on Raw and he may never be able to shake that tag for the rest of his career. The WWE have turned him into a modern-day Doink The Clown.

However, I do agree with you. We are all aware that Santino Marella is more than just what the WWE would have us believe he is. He is highly trained and his WWE performances in the ring have been pretty solid. The problem is that he seems to have set into the mould of being that comedy character on Raw and it would take a lot to get him out of that rut and have the fans believe it.

With a couple of simple changes though, he could be a good talent. Have him change his appearance, much like The Miz did. By changing that, you might change the minds of some of the fans. Put him over some of the upper mid-card talent like The Miz and give him a streak of his own to hold onto. I would have him speak less for the first couple of weeks and have him be quite solid in the ring, not dominating but solid. After a few weeks of putting together some victories without acting like a fool, have him cut a promo about how he is more than just a comedy act and turn him heel. For me, that would work the best.