Santino's slap happy success

BY JIM VARSALLONE

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Timing is everything, and WWE star Santino Marella has been in the right place at the right time, even if it didn't appear that way.

Marella, a Canadian wrestler of Italian descent, already has enough material to formulate a book. He won the Intercontinental title in his first WWE match, worked with Stone Cold Steve Austin, kissed Diva Maria and was slapped ''for real'' by Jim Cornette.

Through the highs and lows, he enjoys his newfound success, especially wrestling.

''You don't wrestle much on TV -- three minute matches, six minute matches,'' he said. ``House shows I wrestle. I love wrestling. I look forward to having pay-per-view matches where I can go 20 minutes and really tell a story and leave it all in the ring.

``There's more than just the comedy. I love wrestling. I love grappling. I love submissions and smashing people. Ultimately, that's going to come out because that's part of me. So there's a part of me in Santino, but there's also a part of me that's a grappler. I think as time goes that will permeate through.

``I don't want one [comedy or wrestling] to overshadow the other. I just want them to be happily married together. I can wrestle and still be Santino.''

With a little help from former WWE star Bobby Lashley, Marella beat Umaga for the IC belt in his WWE TV debut during Raw on April 16, 2007 in Milan, Italy.

''The way I was brought in, I was thrust in. Here I am. Boom,'' said Marella, a judo competitor trained in mixed martial arts in Japan. ``Traditionally, they can come in and work hard and lose some matches and keep fighting and not give up, and that's how babyfaces get over.

``You think this guy just won't quit, and you get behind him. Everyone loves the underdogs, the Bad News Bears. I didn't have the opportunity to do that but maybe in the future.''

Marella is developing his persona and style.

''Anybody, you have to be in condition,'' he said. ``You have moves and stuff. For example, if I just get there and I'm wrestling Umaga, I don't have any patented moves. It just has to be generic until you establish those things. They can't be established on day one. It's a little tougher that way.''

Marella became established over a period of time on WWE's biggest weekly TV stage. A bad guy turn introduced fans to Marella's comedic side.

''I enjoy working as a heel more,'' he said. ``You have the opportunity to put out so much more personality.''

His humorous side helped land him a spot working with WWE great Stone Cold Steve Austin.

''That was really cool,'' Marella said. ``When I got there, Stone Cold hadn't been on for a while. When he came backstage and saw me, he thought I was a shoot from Italy and I was an Italian. He told me, `I love the character. I love everything you're doing.'''

Marella's character on television constantly berated and criticized Austin for his starring role in the WWE Films release The Condemned.

In a Miami Herald article in December 2007, Austin said: ``I knew who he was, but I really didn't take notice of him until then. He's a great talker. He got better in the six or seven weeks [in the storyline], and I think he's very entertaining. I enjoy doing business with him. I think he has a really bright future ahead of him.''

Marella breathed a sigh of relief.

'I was like, `Whew.' I was really relieved because I was ripping on him hard for six weeks,'' Marella said. ``He was awesome. That whole day in L.A. was surreal.

``The one in Philly, the week before, when I dressed up as him, that was pretty funny. The reaction of the crowd when that glass broke was actually probably a little more than L.A., but I came out instead of him.

'In L.A., it was just as good, but L.A. people were like, `Hold on, hold on. It may be a rib again.' So they kind of held back a little bit, until they saw it was really him.

``There's a lot of things that happened that night, personally and professionally. It was unbelievable. It was almost like putting a stamp on it or a coronation to the next level for me. There were so many things going on. To see the company trust me and put me in the ring with Stone Cold Steve Austin, it was unbelievable.''

Marella also had the pleasure of working with WWE Diva Maria.

''Anytime you get to kiss Maria, it's a good day on the job,'' he said. ``We're really good friends. When you come up and have a storyline as long as we did together on TV, it's something we'll share forever. We had history together on TV, and it will never be erased.''

Marella left mixed martial arts in Japan and ventured to the United States in 2005. He began training at Ohio Valley Wrestling, a feeder group to WWE in Louisville, Ky.

OVW booker and part-owner Jim Cornette yelled and allegedly slapped Marella backstage because Marella was not scared of the Boogeyman during an OVW television taping.

In a Miami Herald article in July 2006, Cornette said: ``We had a moron [Marella] in our [OVW] wrestling school, sitting in an area by ringside during a show. The Boogeyman was scaring the Be-Jesus out of everyone in sight. People were running and screaming in fear.

``This one guy thought he was tough. He was not going to get up. He wasn't going to run. He was going to laugh. I took exception to it especially with it on TV. I called him in. He said nobody told him anything about it.''

Cornette said he made some remarks and presented some scenarios for Marella of knowing what to do and what not to do in situations.

Cornette added: ``The angry Boogeyman was probably going to break him in half.''

Internet reports said Cornette slapped him. Cornette and WWE eventually parted ways.

Cornette said WWE vice president of talent relations John Laurinaitis ``is a liar. That was the excuse they used because they were looking for a reason to get rid of me because I wouldn't swallow their crap. I agreed to step aside, and I refused to do business with WWE.''

A few weeks ago, Marella recalled the incident: ``I just got there to OVW. I was there for about a month. I didn't know anything about wrestling. I was sitting there, and my daughter was sitting in front of me, and the emergency doors were behind us.

``The Boogeyman turned toward us, and I thought he was going to scare my daughter for me. So I started smiling, thinking, `This is going to be good. He's going to scare my daughter.'

``I guess Jim Cornette thought I was laughing at the Boogeyman. He got all freaked out, brought me backstage and history happened. It didn't deter me for one second. If anything, it motivated me, and I have no hard feelings with him.

``I can look back and laugh at it now. At the time, I was just afraid of being kicked out and not having the chance to train. Maybe we can have a cage match one day and then shake hands.

``It worked out.''

It sure did.

• WWE's WrestleMania 24 pay-per-view used music to rock the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando and also helped rock the charts for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Legend, Fuel and Rev. Theory.

WWE superstars making their colorful entrances on television and pay-per-view queued by audience-energizing theme songs can provide big dividends for musical performers.

Fuel's Leave the Memories Alone was the theme song for wrestling legend Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24 and the following night's Monday Night RAW on USA Network. The exposure led to the song experiencing a skyrocketing 999-percent increase last week, and a 409-increase this week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

''I think it's fantastic,'' Fuel guitarist Carl Bell said in a release. ``It shows how genuinely passionate WWE fans are about their wrestling and their music. When you write a piece of music that was very passionate to you, it's nice to see people respond in the same manner, and that's what's happening here.''

After serving as one of WrestleMania 24's theme songs, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' single Snow (Hey Oh) and album Stadium Arcadium saw an increase in sales. John Legend's album Live From Philadelphia also saw a sales increase following his live performance of America the Beautiful at WrestleMania.

Rev. Theory's Light It Up also served as a theme song for this year's WrestleMania event and had their sales increase 999 percent as well. Rev. Theory performed during the final leg of WWE's Fan Axxess Tour in Orlando in front of 20,000 people. They were so impressed with the reception, the band invited WWE Diva and fan Ashley Massaro to Los Angeles last week to star in their new video, Hell Yeah.

''This is yet another great example of the many levels of exposure WWE generates for performers,'' said Neil Lawi, general manager, WWE Music Group. ``The music partnerships that we have are ever increasing, and our commitment to create global awareness for music acts today is as relevant as ever, especially with the state of the music business.

``Bands that record theme songs for WWE promotional use are establishing themselves as pop culture icons by gaining coveted exposure to millions of fans worldwide while continuing to rock the sales charts.''