The following are highlights of a new interview with Santino Marella:
Donald Wood: WWE’s Payback pay-per-view is Sunday, June 1, and there is a real buzz in the air about the show. As someone with a unique view of the action being in the trenches, what are you most looking forward to during the show?
Santino Marella: I really want to see the Shield vs. Evolution, for me, because this is a real classic story of the old champions that are past their prime and the new up-and-comers and somewhere theirs paths have to cross, somewhere one was going to be better than the other and it all was going to shift and change. Now? Is it maybe 2 years from now? That’s what I am really curious to see.
Mike Chiari: Having been with WWE for seven years you’ve had a lot of different experiences, but what one match or angle or moment stands out to you as your favorite thing you’ve been a part of in WWE?
Santino: It’s very difficult for me and I often tell people that the best moment is yet to come, but I believe winning the United States Championship was very nice, Elimination Chamber was very special for me, defending my US Title in a cage vs. Jack Swagger was cool; I had never been in a cage match before, to have just one moment; maybe wrestling in Italy.
Brandon Galvin: Not many fans know about your background in MMA, is this a style you would like to incorporate more into your future matches?
Santino: For my matches maybe not because my character is established but for the future and young talent, I believe this is the way the business should go because of the growth of MMA and people are becoming more savvy when it comes to submissions and takedowns and things like that. Before, when we said that wrestling was real we didn’t have to work so hard, but now that we acknowledge that it’s entertainment we have to be very realistic and that is the style we teach at Battle Arts Academy in Toronto.
Donald Wood: Your ring name Marella was an homage to WWE Hall of Famer Robert “Gorilla Monsoon” Marella. Did you have any say in this decision and how did it feel to be bestowed such an honor?
Santino: When they told me, immediately I realized it was an honor and a privilege and it did put some pressure on me to deliver the goods, so to speak.
Mike Chiari: You’ve been paired with a lot of different Divas over the course of your career like Maria, Beth Phoenix, Tamina and now Emma. As a performer how does sharing the stage with a valet or partner impact and enhance what you’re able to do?
Santino: If you know how to use them then of course you have a synergy and if you don’t know how to use them it can be a waste of time. I have been with very different women, for example, Maria was very delicate, more like a model, Beth Phoenix was very strong, Emma is very funny and Tamina was like an amazon. So you have to know how to incorporate them and it all depends on how the personalities mingle.
Donald Wood: You trained in Ohio Valley Wrestling under the tutelage of Paul Heyman. Heyman is widely regarded as one of the smartest minds in the business, but how did he influence your career and do you still go to him for advice?
Santino: Paul Heyman is like a wrestling genius. His input weighs a lot for me. In training, he was observing me and he pulled me aside and said I have an idea for you and he heard about my background and we became more selective and it was very good and it was very fun. I believe the people that watched, they believed 100 percent so we did our job, you know.
Brandon Galvin: You’re always willing to take a chance on something different and creative, whether it’s in the ring or outside the ring, with your character. How much of this a collaboration with others, or do you come up with everything we see?
Santino: In the beginning, it was more regionalized, then it was a collaboration, and now I have more freedom for input. They give me a skeleton, and say ‘you need to say this, this and this, but in your way’ and I come up with what I want to say.
– The latest edition of Steve Austin’s “Steve Austin Show,” which features a Q&A with Eric Bischoff, is now available. The official description for the show reads as follows:
SASc – EP115 – Eric Bischoff Q&A
“You had questions for Eric Bischoff… and he had answers! Does he regret firing Steve Austin from WCW? Was Bret Hart really a good fit for WCW? Who’s Eric’s favorite wrestler? What are Eric’s thoughts on Bill Goldberg’s streak & how was he to deal with? Will Eric ever return to WWE in any capacity? Check out the Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff Q&A now!”
– The official WWE website recently added a “Fantasy Warfare” feature that looks at some unexpected potential WWE showdowns. One of those included in the feature is a fantasy match between Undertaker and Sting. You can check it out at WWE.com.
– The latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, which features an interview with Santino Marella, is now online.
The official description for the show reads as follows:
TIJ – EP33 – WWE’s Santino Marella & Fish Expert Ash Irvine
“All the way from Italy by way of a 20×20 squared circle – WWE’s own Santino Marella joins Chris! Unconscious Intercontinental Championships, the honk-a-meter, the cobra move, maserati clutch, and “The Price is RAW” – all covered! Plus, fish expert Ash Irvine talks sea monsters, and YOUR calls on what the heck was REALLY spotted in Lake Loch Ness.”
– Chris Jericho revealed via his official Twitter account that Santino Marella will be his featured guest on the Friday edition of his “Talk Is Jericho” podcast at PodcastOne.com.
– Speaking of Podcast One, the latest edition of the “Steve Austin Show – Unleashed,” which features Austin interviewing former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas, is now online.
The official description for the show reads as follows:
SASu – EP110 – WWE referee Jim Korderas
“Longtime WWE referee Jim Korderas was in the ring the night Owen Hart fell to his death, and shares the story with Steve. Jim also remembers his pants-splitting, first big squared-circle appearance, calling matches for Kurt Angle, The Undertaker, and Jerry “The King” Lawler, taking bumps, and playing cards with Big Show!”
– Santino Marella’s BattleArts Academy outside of Toronto recently won an award for Best Fitness Club in the city of Mississauga.
– The pro wrestling segment scheduled Nancy Grace’s CNN HLN show on Thursday night featuring wrestler RJ Brewer has been cancelled. No word on whether or not the segment will be rescheduled.
– John Cena granted another wish through the Magic Moments organization at the recent RAW taping in Birmingham, Alabama. The WWE Communitywebsite has photos of Cena meeting 15 year old Dalton at the show.
The following is a non-spoiler match listing for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, which was taped on April 22nd in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and will air this Friday, April 25th on the SyFy Network.
– “The Great Debate” between Paul Heyman and Cesaro.
– Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger
– Natalya vs. Tamina Snuka
– Curtis Axel vs. Jey Uso
– Luke Harper & Erick Rowan vs. Goldust & Cody Rhodes
– Fandango & Layla vs. Santino Marella & Emma
– The Shield vs. 11 WWE Superstars
For a complete WWE SmackDown spoiler report for this week, click ahead to page two …
The following is a non-spoiler match listing for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown. For complete spoiler results, click ahead to page two.
– Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Drew McIntyre & Jinder Mahal
– Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Ryback & Curtis Axel
– Damien Sandow vs. Sin Cara
– Goldust vs. Fandango
– Batista vs. Sheamus
– The Bella Twins vs. AJ Lee & Tamina Snuka
– Jack Swagger vs. Jimmy Uso
– The Miz vs. Mark Henry
– Bray Wyatt vs. Big Show
For complete spoiler results for this week’s WWE SmackDown, click ahead to page two …
Entertainment news outlet Variety has published a new piece on WWE Studios, which includes details on two new sequel films as well as release dates for several other projects.
The Marine 4: The fourth installment of The Marine franchise will star The Miz and will feature WWE Diva Summer Rae in a supporting role. Will be co-produced with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Jingle All The Way 2: This is a follow-up to the 1996 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad. ‘Jingle 2’ will star Larry The Cable Guy and will also feature Santino Marella. Scheduled for a holiday 2014 home video release, it will be directed by Alex Zamm (“Tooth Fairy 2”) and will also be co-produced with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Mike Dunn, President of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, said:
“WWE Studios remains a valuable partner and we are pleased to continue to bring these films to their legions of fans across the globe. We’re excited to be launching the fourth installment of the tremendously successful franchise, ‘The Marine,’ and to have Larry the Cable on board for ‘Jingle All the Way 2,’ a perfect star for our first family comedy with WWE Studios.”
Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery: Will be released on home video by Warner Bros. on March 25th.
Leprechaun: Origins” Starring Hornswoggle, will be released by Lionsgate in August.
“See No Evil 2? Starring Kane, will also be released by Lionsgate in October.
As previously reported, WWE Superstar Santino Marella has been off of television recently due to what was being referred to as a “chronic neck injury.” Marella underwent surgery on Thursday to fix the injury and posted the following tweet on his official Twitter account to update fans on his condition:
Success! more blood and pain this time but doctors are happy with the out come pic.twitter.com/qx0ooHcFUI
– WWE Superstar Santino Marella has been out of action recently because he is rehabbing what is being described as a chronic neck injury. As of right now there is no timetable for his return.
– The following are some recent WWE attendance figures:
January 17th in St. Louis drew 6,000 fans
January 18th in Cincinnati drew 6,000 fans
January 18th in Hammond, IN drew 3,900 fans
January 19th in Columbus, OH drew 6,500 fans
January 19th in Kalamazoo, MI drew 2,000 fans
January 20th in Dayton, OH for RAW drew 7,500 fans
– In the latest edition of 30 Second Fury!, John Cena’s Attitude Adjustment is highlighted.
– The second part of Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast with WWE Hall of Famer Edge will be released online this week via PodcastOne.com.
– Santino Marella is giving away free trials to his mixed martial arts academy in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He remarked on Twitter on Sunday, “Live in the GTA? Wanna try out @BattleArtsMMA for a week? Simply text BATTLE to 393939 and you will instantly receive a free week trial!”
The official website of Battle Arts Academy is located here.
The following are the official nominees for the “LOL Moment of the Year” Slammy Award, which will be presented by The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) on Monday night.
– The Rock concert during the RAW 20th Anniversary show
– Vickie Guerrero getting fired as RAW General Manager
– Titus O’Neil throwing up on JBL, Michael Cole and Zeb Colter on SmackDown
– The Great Khali and Jinder Mahal attempting to charm Santino Marella’s “Cobra”
– Former manager of Alberto Del Rio and Rob Van Dam, Ricardo Rodriguez, worked at last night’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view. Rodriguez handled the Spanish commentary for the pay-per-view broadcast.
– Former WWE RAW General Manager on-air and former Senior Vice President of Talent Relations behind-the-scenes, John Laurinaitis, made a small cameo during the Survivor Series pay-per-view on Sunday night. During a backstage segment that featured Santino Marella and R-Truth playing with WWE action figures, Laurinaitis, along with Los Matadores and Fandango, popped in briefly.
The special one-year anniversary edition of The JBL & Cole Show has been added to the official YouTube channel of WWE.
The show this week features a number of guest appearances, including Dolph Ziggler, Santino Marella, Josh Mathews, Road Dogg, Damien Sandow, Renee Young, Hornswoggle, Big E. Langston, John Cena, Daniel Bryan and John Cone.
You can check out episode 52 of The JBL & Cole Show below:
– One of the most feared moves in WWE is highlighted in this week’s edition of 30 Second Fury: Santino Marella’s Cobra.
– Alex Riley, who now appears a color commentator on WWE Superstars alongside Tom Phillips, recently tweaked his look for the show. The 32-year-old is sporting thick-rimmed glasses while calling the matches.
– Former WWE wrestler Tiger Ali Singh appeared as a guest speaker on Friday in Burlington, Ontario on behalf of the Halton Regional Police Services for their ‘Toys for Tots’ campaign launch. According to SLAM! Wrestling, Singh stated at the event, “There were lots of children in attendance and my message to them was a simple one… no matter what religion, colour or race you are, “sickness and poverty do not discriminate and neither should the spirit of giving.”
Tonight at WWE Battleground, Santino Marella and The Great Khali will take on The Real Americans, Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro, in a tag team match. The official WWE website announced the bout this morning.
WWE teases, “Will the Real Americans finally be able to break The Italian Stallion, or will Santino’s unorthodox style —and Khali’s brute strength — overwhelm Zeb Colter’s patriotic pair?”
The updated line-up for Sunday’s pay-per-view event taking place in Buffalo, New York at the First Niagara Center is as follows:
* Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton (WWE Championship Match)
* World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Rob Van Dam (Battleground Hardcore Rules Match for the World Heavyweight Championship)
* CM Punk vs. Ryback
* WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee vs. Brie Bella (WWE Divas Championship Match)
* Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs. WWE Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns
* WWE Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel vs. R-Truth (WWE Intercontinental Championship Match)
* Kofi Kingston vs. Bray Wyatt
* Santino Marella and The Great Khali vs. Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro
Could DVDs highlighting Bra and Panties matches, Velocity and “The Milan Miracle” be on the horizon? According to WrestlingDVDNews.com, WWE issued a second survey to fans today looking for feedback on the following potential future releases:
* Best of Shotgun Saturday Night
* Best of Velocity
* Best of WWE Superstars
* Best of WWE Saturday Morning Slam
* Thanksgiving Moments
* Best of Bra and Panties
* Top 25 Superstar Entrances
* The Christmas Collection (All of WWE’s best Christmas-themed moments)
* Music of WWE (The best entrance songs)
* Best of the Slammys
* Best of Tribute to the Troops
* Brothers of Destruction
* Top Divas
* Santino Comedy Hour
WWE’s survey last week featured potential titles on “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, the Rhodes Family, Rob Van Dam, “Class of 96” (The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin), Batista, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Daniel Bryan, Rey Mysterio and Best of WCW pay-per-view events.
– Hornswoggle appears on the latest episode of the YouTube show Wreckless Eating, where he consumes a number of unusual delicacies, snacks and drinks. However, this does not end well as the WWE Superstar vomits during his eating experience. The episode can be seen below (Warning – contains bad language).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIN8SApTcZg
– Former WWE Women’s Champion Candice Michelle turns 35-years-old today. She recently resurfaced on the wrestling scene, having appeared at two independent events since last month (as host of a show in California in August and referee nine days ago in New Jersey).
– Santino Marella has launched an Instagram account.
The following are highlights from a recent interview with WWE Superstar Santino Marella:
His Battle Arts Academy: “It’s a hybrid place, and what I mean by that is multiple facilities all under one roof. We have a full MMA training center; we have striking and grappling every day at both the recreational levels and the professional levels. We have professional wrestling, strength and conditioning programs. We have a smoothie bar and retail store in the front; we have nutritionists and professional trainers, everything really. And also with kids classes and after school programs, it’s awesome.
It was a little bit delayed, construction was delayed. I wanted to open in July and thought I had ironed out all the bugs, before I went back out on the road with the WWE, but you know everything takes a little longer than it’s supposed to so just as I was scheduled to go back out on the road is when we opened. So, I went home for a couple of days and tried to catch up and just implement our policies and procedures and made sure everyone was following the procedures put in place. So that’s the kind of stuff; I’m in touch when I’m on the road with everybody here, making sure everything is running smoothly and that people are happy.
One thing we did is that we have awesome trainers, so I know that the quality of our coaching and training is going to be top-notch. We have Mr. Ishikawa, from Japan, who came here just to be an instructor here; he’s amazing. We have an awesome women’s kickboxing instructor names Nichelle Laus, who has competed for 13 years and was a police office and mother of 4. We didn’t just get a kettlebell instructor, we got Tony Wallace who is called ‘The King of Kettlebells’. Everybody we have here is just top-notch and the facility is absolutely beautiful; it came out just brand new and it’s well thought out and designed. There’s very little wasted space and it’s bright and open; the reviews that people give when they come in is that they love it. So, we’re happy.”
His goals for the Battle Arts Academy: “We have a lot of goals, that’s one of our things here. We want to produce top fighters, but we also want to have an awesome kids program and what is equally important to us is just recreational level fitness; we want people to come here and get into the best shape of their lives and be the most confident they’ve ever been. We want our high school level athletes to improve their performance with Olympic weight lifting and boot camps and strength and conditioning. We’re doing a reality show here; we want people to break that barrier and have their first ever amateur fight in the octagon and prepare for it. It’s a lot of mental and spiritual training here and what I mean by that is the fighting spirit has to be trained so that when you reach your limit, you reach your plateau, to dig deep and embrace that plateau and that is what it’s all about. That’s when you can go home and say ‘Man I did something today that I couldn’t do before’. You just improve right in from of your own eyes and that’s when you realize anything is possible with super hard work and really good mentor and stuff like that. We do, we have world champions, national champions from all various martial arts and wrestling, giving all this incredible knowledge to the fortunate community; I always say I wish I had this place when I was growing up.
The reality show he has in the works: “The reality show is about MMA; it’s about young fighters who really want to have their first-ever MMA fight, break that barrier in terms of fear and get in the octagon and have their first ever amateur fight. It may be somebody that has a background in karate as a kid, or wrestling but they want to tie it all together and have an MMA fight. So, we’re going to go down to some of the other dojos in the greater Toronto area and find opponents and make this season finale card and talk about the training and the obstacles whether they be mental or physical and ultimately show the fight.
It’s going to be web-based so when you’re watching the show and let’s say Mr. Ishikawa is showing one of his submissions, we’ll have something where; everybody can watch the show, but for a small fee or premium price, you can click here for further detail on this particular submission or ‘click here’ for the breakdown of this particular Olympic wrestling technique. And people can actually learn a lot and be entertained.”
>How did the Cobra come about: “When I attended the original Battle Arts in Japan in 2004, one of the partners there; we were sitting having dinner and beverages after one of our shows and he just said ‘Hey, watch this’ and he did this thing and made his arm into a snake and I’d kind of forgotten about it and years later it popped into my head before my match, and I tried it out and it was born; the crowd liked it immediately.”
His recent return to WWE TV at their Toronto show: “It was awesome actually. The grand opening was actually the night before my return, so it was a really cool weekend. I had the Grand Opening party on Sunday, returning to the WWE on Monday, Smackdown on Tuesday; so it was a cool weekend.
It was awesome. When my music hit and the people erupted it was like ‘Yes!’. It was a very special moment for me and my career. It’s definitely up there in the Top-5 of the coolest moments in my career, that’s for sure.”
His goals in wrestling: “I want to go for the big one this time; World Heavyweight Champion, you know? Alberto Del Rio; he’s a world class champion, I can’t take anything away from him. I have a lot of respect for him actually; I wouldn’t trash talk him by any means, but there’s only one guy at the top and I don’t care if it’s even for just a short time, I just want to be king of the mountain for a little while.”
The following are results of the matches taped for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars, which was taped prior to the start of WWE RAW on Monday night.
-Tony Dawson and Alex Riley came down to ringside for commentary.
-Santino Marella defeated JTG via Pinfall.
Santino came out first, to a huge reaction from the fans in attendance. Out next was JTG, who will be his opponent in this one-on-one contest to open this week’s WWE Superstars taping. The match was kept relatively short and was mostly a comedy match, with Santino picking up the pinfall victory after hitting the Cobra on JTG.
-Kofi Kingston defeated Drew McIntyre via Pinfall.
Kofi Kingston came out first to a nice ovation. Out next is his opponent, 3MB member Drew McIntyre. A lot of back-and-forth offense in this one, with several near falls. The finish came when Kingston hit his Trouble In Paradise kick on McIntyre for the 1-2-3.
-After those two matches, the WWE RAW announce team of Michael Cole, Jerry “The King” Lawler and JBL made their way to ringside. That ends this week’s WWE Superstars taping.
-WWE Superstar Santino Marella’s return on Monday’s live edition of RAW from Toronto, Ontario, Canada was apparently planned well in advance. The idea from WWE was to have Santino return in Toronto to guarantee the babyface character a massive pop from his hometown audience.
-The angle on Monday’s RAW where Christian was beaten up by The Shield and dragged out on stage in front of his former tag-team partner and real-life friend, Edge, was a decision made to garner more heat on Triple H and his “new regime,” as well as to explain Christian’s absence from in-ring competition, as he is currently sidelined with a legitimate concussion.
– This week on “Backstage Fallout” for Raw, Santino Marella addresses his much-anticipated return to the squared circle. Plus, Natalya celebrates her big win before heading into a title match at Night of Champions, and Fandango comments on interrupting The Miz.
– The mother of Total Divas star JoJo, Alexie Offerman, spoke to Divas-365.com about her daughter, Justin Gabriel, the E! reality show and WWE. During the interview, she reveals that her daughter has her sights set on capturing the Divas Championship.
“From the very first day of training, she came home and said to me, “Oh my God mom, I found home away from home, I love the feeling of wrestling and its challenges!” said Offerman. “For 6 weeks this little girl couldn’t get roughed up enough!! Let me let you in on something – after filming the first 8 episodes of Total Divas, her and Eva Marie went back to training at NXT from 9 to 5 on a daily basis. She was ecstatic about all the moves she was learning from Sara Del Rey, then the news came that Total Divas was picked up for 6 more episodes and while she was happy for the extension of the show, she was also disappointed for the interruption of her daily training!! Yes she has expressed to us how much she loves the Ring and how she would love to someday/some year earn the Championship Belt!! She just turned 19… Stay tuned!”
– WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk and Manny Fernandez participated in a wrestling seminar on Saturday that was filmed for an upcoming RF Video release.
Here are some off-air live notes from Monday’s WWE RAW, as reported by the WWE website:
– Santino Marella spoke to WWE.com following his surprise return on RAW from Toronto, where he defeated Antonio Cesaro. During the match, Santino used a Judo throw on Cesaro, which he credited to Yuki Ishikawa – the co-founder of his new BattleArts academy.
– After getting beat down by The Shield on RAW, Christian was checked out by a trainer backstage. Christian’s neck and shoulder were in pain.
– After Goldust was defeated by WWE Champion Randy Orton, he was escorted to the back by WWE referees and was cheered by the live crowd.