WWE Superstar Santino Marella spoke with GeekChicDaily.com to promote the new line of Mattel WWE figures. Here are a few highlights:

GeekChicDaily: You said you got rid of your unibrow for a wedding. What happened to the fauxhawk?

Santino Marella: Well, you know, I'm trying to be a little more corporate and to be honest, it was exposing some weaknesses I had in my hairline. I have some thinning, male-pattern baldness and I want to cover it. The unibrow will be back in no time, don't worry.

GCD: What's the process like of getting your own action figure made?

SM: Sometimes the Mattel people come to where we're performing Raw, and they'll do pictures: a 360 profile, then for individual things like tattoos they'll do close-ups of each individual tattoo and condense it down as accurately as possible. Sometimes they take individual photos of your shoes or kneepads, details of your outfit, then take all this information back and do it together. Then when they get back, that's when the technology kicks in. That's when they start making 3-D models and decorating based on the photos.

GCD: If you could do a specific defining moment that's more elaborate than the regular figure, what would it be?

SM: Hmmm. I would like to see a two-pack with Vladimir Kozlov and the tag-team titles. We deserve that. We were a tag team for one year straight and that would be nice to see.

GCD: But he's no longer with the company, right?

SM: Well, neither are the Legends...

GCD: You've been hilarious as a comedic character, but there's some feeling that it's tough for a comedy wrestler to be in the main event. Do you think that's right, or do you see yourself someday being the champ?

SM: Interesting question; I debate that myself. You do have more longevity and always have a place when you're the comedic component, but I know I'm developing the skills to become a main-event competitor. My grappling's better; my conditioning is better. I'm more experienced. When I first started I was basically fresh, like a rookie. So it''s not something you can pick up very quickly. It takes many years. But I'm becoming better and Triple H actually told me that you can still be a comedy person, but you can now put the jokes on the other person instead of yourself. So I can still be funny and be competitive.

Labels: Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments

Santino Marella’s leg was banged up during the match with Sheamus at Monday’s RAW from London. A referee sent for an EMT but before they could get out there, Santino hopped to the back on one leg. The injury wasn’t enough to keep Santino off yesterday’s RAW live event in Cardiff, Wales, but he teamed up with Mark Henry and participated very little in the match.

Labels: Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:04 PM | Permalink | Comments

Coming out of RAW, here is the updated card for WWE’s Bragging Rights pay-per-view:

WWE Title Match
Wade Barrett with John Cena vs. Randy Orton

RAW vs. SmackDown Match
The Miz, R-Truth, John Morrison, Santino Marella, Sheamus and CM Punk vs. Big Show and 5 Others

WWE Unified Divas Title Match
Natalya vs. Layla or Michelle McCool

A gimmick match, possibly a Buried Alive match, between The Undertaker and Kane for the World Heavyweight Title is expected to be announced at tomorrow’s tapings.

Labels: 2010 Bragging Rights, Santino Marella, the big show, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:19 PM | Permalink | Comments

After RAW, it looks like Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov have formed a new tag team. Obviously WWE has been putting more effort into their tag team division as of late. Here’s what the current tag team roster looks like. Note that some of these aren’t official teams but have been working together lately.

For what it’s worth, a new tag team with Matt Hardy and his NXT Rookie Justin Gabriel has been discussed.

RAW:

* John Morrison & R-Truth

* The Hart Dynasty

* The Uso Twins

* Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov

* The Miz & Chris Jericho (may not be used anymore)

SmackDown:

* Trent Baretta & Caylen Croft

* Vancer Archer & Curt Hawkins

* The Straight Edge Society

* JTG & MVP

Labels: john morrison, r-truth, Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:18 PM | Permalink | Comments

AOL’s Television section is saying that WWE is currently working on a sitcom starring Santino Marella. WWE Diva Beth Phoenix is slated to play his girlfriend, and Vladimir Kozlov his best friend. “In two weeks, we’re filming the first three episodes,” Santino said. “It will air at first on the dot com, then after that we will get it to a network television.”

USA Network VP Chris McCumber however said the USA Network isn’t looking for sitcoms right now, but acknowledged Marella as a good comedic character.

When asked if it will be like reality TV, Santino said: “I think we’re going to use one or two cameras. It will kind of be like a ‘Seinfeld,’ but with me. You know, it will only be a reality show if you consider wrestling reality.”

Labels: beth phoenix, Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

For those wondering about the incident at Backlash involving Santina stating she was "in love" with Jim Ross, The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the announcers didn't know that was going to happen and what was discussed at the production meeting and what was later on the written script were two different things. It was basically another example of Vince McMahon bullying Ross on TV, which is something he seems to enjoy and has done repeatedly in the past. It was obvious to many that McMahon was feeding Michael Cole the lines about how JR should "come out of the closet" and referring to him as "Mr. BBQ man" to which JR responded, "Who fed you that line?"

Labels: jim ross, Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments

In the old adage of “is it what it is” the WWE’s latest PPV – Cyber Sunday is in the books. What is hailed as the most interactive PPV of the year because it involves fans voting either for the stip of the matches or the wrestlers in the matches, there was both some good and bad on the show, and below are the highlights as it went down:

Good:

I thought both title matches were well done. Batista getting back the belt came as a bit of a surprise at first, but then I realized that you can have a series of rematches at Survivor Series and beyond. Long term I am thinking that this belt at some point goes back on the waist of Randy Orton, as he will come back and eventually have a showdown with Batista possibly at Royal Rumble.

As for the Jeff Hardy-Triple H match, again, a very solid match between two guys we’ve seen in the ring together before. I am hoping this is it for Hardy, as he’s had enough shots for now at the belt. With that said, I am assuming we’ll move on to Vladimir Kozlov and see he and HHH at Survivor Series. As for Hardy, how about a run at Shelton Benjamin and the US Belt?

Bad:

The opener with Rey Mysterio and Kane came off a little flat, and I think they did all the wrong things with this program. First, they rushed the whole angle with them taking Rey’s mask off, then they really never gave a real honest reason for Kane beating on Mysterio in the first place, other than because he wears a mask? Kind of a lame feud all the way around, and I hope this match is the last we’ll see with them.

Good:

The Evan Bourne-Matt Hardy match was very good on all accounts, and I hope that we’ll see these two in the ring more down the road. Hardy is a very worthy ECW Champion, and while it’s just ECW, the show is way better with him having a belt on it and being the face of the brand. Bourne’s time will come, and this was a great teaser for what the future holds for him.

Bad:

I am not a huge fan of “Last Man Standing” matches, and thought that the Undertaker-Big Show match was not as good as it could have been if there was another stipulation involved. What was wrong with the “knockout” match? That to me would have fit both better, as it would have been Show trying to knock out Taker with a punch, and Taker trying to choke Show out with the triangle choke.

Good:

The tag match between Miz and Morrison vs Cryme Tyme was a solid match, and I guess my only slight issue is what they will be doing long-term with Miz and Morrison. For now though, this was a decent win for a team that over the past year and a half has been by far the best tag team in the company.

Bad:

I have always enjoyed the Intercontinental belt, and for whatever reason they keep wanting to make this belt the joke of the company. They allowed Santino Marella to take on basically one of three “legends” in Roddy Piper, Goldust, or the Honky Tonk Man. The Honky Tonk Man won the vote, looked totally out of shape, then won by DQ. Let’s allow Marella to stop defending against the likes of Honky and D-Lo Brown, and get some real and worthy challengers in there.

Labels: "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, 2008 cyber sunday, batista, Santino Marella, triple h

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross is back with another blog update over at jrsbarbq.com where he talks about last night’s RAW, Ric Flair, Steve Austin and others. Below are the highlights:

- Jim Ross on last night’s RAW: HBK vs. Jericho for the World’s Title in a Ladder Match at No Mercy should be excellent. A show stealer?

Jericho-Punk had a really solid opening, cage match. Both men bring something special to the table. Nice chemistry between 2 athletic talents.

Nice to see Santino Marella, an entertaining antagonist, get to sit at the “grown up” table in a key interview segment.

William Regal pairing w/Layla should earn the underrated Regal more TV time.

Evan Bourne is a rapidly rising star. He’s quickly growing past the “side kick” role. Best shooting star press I’ve ever seen from this young star.

Charlie Haas impersonation of yours truly got Charlie noticed again, which was the point. No worries here as that road has been traveled before. Upside here was that our Bar-B-Q biz got a Mamajuana-like TV mention. Perhaps I need to go on Lawler’s no carb diet after seeing Charlie’s “drum.”

- Jim Ross on Steve Austin again: My blurb on Steve Austin certainly got people talking about Steve returning to ring for “one more match.” To the best of my knowledge, Steve has no intention of returning to the ring, but is working out like a warrior to prepare for his upcoming movie role. Austin does seem like a leading candidate to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009 in Houston.

- Jim Ross on Ric Flair: I received 2 great voice mails from Ric Flair Tuesday while I was in route from OKC-Nashville. Ric sounded great, upbeat and busy. His recent controversy seems to have two distinctly different stories. Ric is in the process of recording a DVD interview that he seems excited about. This one should contain some interesting “road stories” and career highlights and lowlights. It was great hearing from Ric who is following his friend Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks and also keeps up with another friend Bob Stoops’ Oklahoma Sooners.

- Jim Ross on the younger guys: It’s been a long time since so many young wrestlers have received TV time. That’s essentially a good thing and puts the onus on the youth of the WWE to step up and accept the responsibility that goes with the territory.

Labels: c.m. punk, jim ross, ric flair, Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments

Santino Marella calls out Perez Hilton and Rowdy Roddy Piper in the newest episode of Santino's Casa.

Labels: "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments

RAW kicked off the week of WWE TV with a taped show from St.Louis. It was a mixed bag in my opinion, with some good, some bad, and some segments that simply were as bland as eating ice at the bottom of a snow cone that has no flavor left. With that, here are some thoughts from the show:

The Good:

* I have expressed this before, and I will say it again, Chris Jericho circa 2008 is by far my favorite reborn character the company has seen in sometime. I don't know if it was Chris, but whoever has come up with the tweaks to the old Jericho gets a huge prop in my eyes. Here's hoping for a Jericho-Punk program for the belt at some point down the road provided they allow Punk to keep it.

* The returns of hottie Candice Michelle and Rey Mysterio made the night. First, here's hoping Michelle finally can stay healthy and get a serious program with Beth Phoenix. As for Rey, I think that was the best return of the few that we've seen out of him. He finally forgo the cartoon character that we usually see, and came out with a serious look and had a great go at it with Kane. I am looking forward to the Kane-Rey program that will take place after the PPV.

* Randy Orton coming out and making all the title holders mad was a great way to kick off the night. I love the fact instead of just sugar coating it and calling out Punk, he also called out DiBiase and Rhodes and Phoeix, which was great. I think Randy will be top notch with his character when he returns and will be right at the top of the mix of the title picture.

* It was nice to see the tag titles actually given a real program with Rhodes and DiBiase and Cryme Tyme. For too long they have wasted time on things that don't matter, and let belts simply sit in the corner and rot when you can build good programs around them. I think this has the makings of a good match at the PPV, and a program that can have legs.

The Bad:

* I'd like to thank D-Lo Brown for a comeback that we'd all like to forget. You can bet that his short and ugly loss to Santino Marella will basically be the first of many, and that any hopes of a push are long gone for a guy who's better days were in the late 90's. Plus he can lose that 10-year old theme song anytime.

* The two battle royals were both rather lame in my opinion, and while I know what they were trying to get across, I thought they both were rather ho-hum. It made Henry and Kane both look rather impressive, and in the long run you know there two will not be in main event programs.

* I know that William Regal is still somewhat in the dog house for his past suspension, but losing to Jamie Noble in a stupid comedy act with him and Layla was pretty weak. I still think that Regal has a lot to give in and out of the ring, but since his return he's been pushed to the back burner, and here's hoping that he'll be allowed to get on track at some point.

Final Grade for the Show: C+

Labels: beth phoenix, c.m. punk, candice michelle, chris jericho, kane, RAW, rey mysterio, Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

Don't Forget, Raw airs tonight at its normal time, but on the Scifi Channel. Heres a list of whats on tap for this very special Raw.

• A live Appearance by Shawn Michaels

• Kofi Kingston vs. Santino Marrella for the Intercontinental Championship

• Batista vs. Kane

• and much more

Labels: batista, kane, kofi kingston, RAW, Santino Marella, scifi, shawn michaels, wwe raw

Posted by Tymo55 at 3:47 PM | Permalink | Comments

Preview:
Unsolved Mysterio
August 18th, 2008

Since returning to the Raw brand, Kane has come to the ring clutching a burlap sack at his side. For weeks, the WWE Universe puzzled over the bag’s contents, but Raw General Manager Mike Adamle attempted to sate our fans’ curiosity by forcing Kane to reveal what he has been hiding. The Big Red Monster claimed that there was a mask inside the bag, and that it belonged to someone who had been scarred and damaged before opening up the sack to reveal Rey Mysterio’s mask. What has Kane done to the Master of the 619, and what actions will be taken against him?

At SummerSlam, John Cena and Batista will face off against one another for the first time ever. In spite of the mounting tensions between the competitors, two weeks ago they managed to successfully compete as a pair to defeat Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase for the World Tag Team Championship. When the young Superstars exercised their rematch clause, though, the animosity between Cena & The Animal was so great that Rhodes & DiBiase were able to take back their gold. What will happen when the Chain Gang Commander & Batista compete at SummerSlam, and who will walk away “the man” of Monday Night Raw?

Ever since CM Punk became World Heavyweight Champion, he has been subjected to the mockery of JBL, who refers to him as nothing more than a “paper champion.” On Monday, that mockery continued as the self-proclaimed “wrestling-god” challenged the Straightedge Champion to a drinking contest, which goes against Punk’s principles. The champion’s response saw him throwing the drink in self-made millionaire’s face, and beating him to the ground. At SummerSlam, when the two meet in the ring with the World Heavyweight Title hanging in the balance, will CM Punk be able to prove that he is a worthy champion?

On Monday night, Santino Marella defeated WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James in an Intergender Match as Beth Phoenix looked on from Marella’s corner, and Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston from Mickie’s. At SummerSlam, however, all four competitors will be involved in the action as Santino Marella & Beth Phoenix take on Kofi Kingston & Mickie James in a Winner Takes All Match. With both the Intercontinental and Women’s gold up for grabs, which team will walk away with both championships on their waists?

For the answers to these questions and more, be sure to tune into Monday Night Raw at 9/8 CT only on USA Network. And don't miss the Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer, live, and only on pay-per-view, Aug. 17 at 8/7 CT.

Labels: RAW, rey mysterio, Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: WrestleScoop.com

WWE and Rey Mysterio are still going back and forth when it comes to his contract. He still has plenty of time left for something to be worked out, but reports say he wants considerably more than they are willing to pay. The feeling is that although the WWE understands his value, especially in the merchandise department, they think he is injury prone and want to make sure he's healthy. This is also why you haven't seen him back on Raw since his match with Santino as we reported here on the site. He hasn't completely recovered from his biceps surgery. However, he should return full-time sometime in August.

Labels: rey mysterio, Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: WrestleScoop.com

Rey Mysterio was not used on Raw this week because he still hasn't fully recovered from his torn biceps injury. It is little known that his bicepts got infected and required more surgeries after the original. A decision was made to bring him in following the initial Draft show to shoot an angle with Santino Marella to get him over as a new star on Raw and use him in an easy match that didn't require much on his part. Mysterio is expected to be back in a few weeks to return full-time from that point on.

Labels: rey mysterio, Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments

Preview: The Morning After
June 2, 2008

While the Superstars who participated in One Night Stand last night are licking their wounds from the most Extreme pay-per-view in WWE history, everyone else is eagerly awaiting more details on Mr. McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania. The WWE Chairman has promised to give more details on the giveaway on Monday Night Raw, including how you can win $1 million from Mr. McMahon himself. The Chairman has also scheduled a press conference for Tuesday afternoon, discussing the giveaway.

One person who is already a winner is Triple H, who successfully defended his WWE Championship against Randy Orton, but at great cost to their bodies. With both Superstars severely battered from their Last Man Standing Match, will the Legend Killer even be capable of rising again to compete against The Game?

Also at One Night Stand, John Cena defeated JBL in a First Blood Match, causing the Longhorn Loudmouth to bleed from the mouth after a brutal match. Will the self-made millionaire let his rivalry with Cena fall by the wayside after this defeat? While JBL had a bloody mouth to tend, Shawn Michaels was injured much more seriously, as he was literally unable to walk away from his Stretcher Match with Batista. HBK has been injured before, necessitating extended recovery time spent away from WWE. What, if anything, will we see from The Showstopper on Raw, and how will he react to having his show stopped by The Animal?

Santino Marella has an upcoming match with Jimmy Kimmel Live!’s Cousin Sal on SmackDown. But as explained exclusively on WWE Mobile on AT&T, the Braggadocios Italian Superstar has something special in store for Sal’s training partner, WWE Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper on Raw this week. What could Marella be planning for the living legend?

And in just three short weeks, on a special three-hour Monday Night Raw, the WWE Draft will take place. All Superstars, all Divas, and all announcers from all three brands will be eligible. Where will your favorite Superstars end up, and how will it affect Monday Night Raw?

For the answers to all these questions and the chance to win $1 million from the Chairman as part of Mr. McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania, be sure to tune in to WWE Monday Night Raw at 9/8 CT only on the USA Network.

Labels: mr.mcmahon, RAW, roddy piper, Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:34 AM | Permalink | Comments

Couple of updates on RAW Tonight...

- Roddy Piper will be on Carlito's Cabana, building on the angle they shot last week where Piper slapped Santino backstage.

- C.M. Punk vs. Randy Orton is one match already booked for the show

- Wrestling Observer reports that Vince McMahon will open Raw with a big speech (could it be the announcement of the draft?)

Labels: carlito, cm punk, roddy piper, Santino Marella, vince mcmahon

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:13 PM | Permalink | Comments

You can now see Santino Marella's arrest report from earlier today by clicking HERE

In case you didn't hear or see below, Marella was in jail for nearly 9 hours this morning for reportedly driving under the influence. He posted bond and was released.

Labels: Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments

From PWInsider

WWE's Santino Marella was released from custody at 11:35 am today after posting $500 bond. According to several sources, Marella was pulled over early this morning after an evening out drinking with ECW star Kevin Thorn and several WWE developmental talents.

Marella failed several roadside tests given to him by authorities and was booked for driving under the influence. He was later tested for blood alcohol levels, which results returned at a level of 0.061. That number is below the legal limit in Florida of 0.08, but since he was tested several hours after being taken into custody, he is still subject to prosecution on the DUI charges.

Marella's arrest, complete with mug shot, has been picked up by gossip news website TMZ.com. World Wrestling Entertainment has not publicly responded to the arrest.

Labels: kevin thorn, Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

Source: www.f4wonline.com

Santino Marella may be getting a bodyguard. Derby City Wrestling wrestler Al Barone is getting some tryout matches during WWE's tour of Canada next month. Marella wants Barone to be his bodyguard in WWE

Labels: Al Barone, Santino Marella

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Following was Posted One Year Ago Today on Let's Wrestle

Monday night's edition of RAW from Milan, Italy was a show in which the crowd reactions really made up for what otherwise was an okay edition of the show. For some odd reason, people in Italy seem to not like John Cena all that much, as he did not get over during his handicapped win over Edge and Randy Orton. Possibly the bigger story is we will have a WrestleMania 23 rematch next Monday night when Shawn Michaels takes on Cena in London, England for the WWE title.

The other big angle on the show was the open, which saw Vince McMahon and his good pal Umaga challenge a "fan" from the large crowd in Milan. That "fan" ended up being OWV's Boris Alexiev, who came in, got some offense on Umaga, and then after being beat on was helped out by Bobby Lashley, who came in after it was announced by McMahon that he wasen't going to be there. Lashley, after hitting Umaga with a chair, put the "fan," who was announced as Santino Morella, on top of the IC champ for the three-count. Morella was announced as the new IC Champ, which has its drawbacks on so many levels I don't know where to start.

Of course you knew the moment that Alexiev walked into the ring he was a wrestler, gee, maybe the ultra-large back tattoo gave it away, or the fact he knew what he was doing 3 seconds into their "match." I thought the whole angle seemed really weak, and the fact they put the belt on someone that no one knows, means that any value the IC belt had now goes down the toilet. Plus the fact that he needed help to beat Umaga means that this guy is not going to be able to get over, and the minute that he does start wrestling for real, its going to look like he's been a wrestler from day one. Kind of takes us back to the days of Hillbilly Jim coming in from the crowd back in the 1980's.

There were four other matches on the night along with the main event, which included Carlito and Ric Flair again losing, this time to the World's Greatest Tag Team. They are doing an angle where Carlito suffers losses, then gets mad at Torrie and Flair, which will eventually lead to him going heel and pushing that feud into high gear. Johnny Nitro beat Eugene in a quick squash that had no real heat behind it.

Chris Masters and Super Crazy had a decent match, with Masters getting over with a pinfall win. The other match was a singles match with Lance Cade going over on Jeff Hardy to push their upcoming tag title match at Backlash. The story here is to get the heel over so it makes you think that they have a shot at the PPV, which they really don't.

Then the main event, which saw Cena get booed, but then get the win when Michaels came in after the ref was knocked out, went for sweet chin music, and hit Edge instead. Cena then FU'ed Michaels, and pinned Edge. A decent ending that should set up next weeks match, and the Backlash main event. You can already see major interference next week for the main event, which will taint any finish.

All in all, kind of a bummer show considering the crowd they had watching live. I am interested to see the reaction that is given to ECW and SmackDown tonight. ECW has my interest after last weeks heel turn from C.M. Punk. How the crowd sees it is a different story.

Labels: ric flair, Santino Marella, umaga, vince mcmahon

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:13 AM | Permalink | Comments