Can Santino actually wrestle?

[Vash21]

Just curious, because as far as his comedic skills IMO he is top notch, as far as I can tell he has never been in a serious angle though. I am not a hardcore follower anymore.

Can he wrestle?

Most of these new guys have about as much personality as a rock.

I realize that he could never be turned serious heel, no one would ever take him seriously.

I don't watch as much as I used to, but I do like Santino's comedy.

 

[Uncle Sam]

The day Santino starts chain wrestling and doing German Suplexes is the day that I, erm-- it's the day that I say, "That's odd - Santino is chain wrestling and doing German Suplexes." In his current iteration, I expect he probably just prances around and throws a punch or two every now and then. Y'know, on the rare occasion he wrestles.

Though he had an MMA gimmick in FCW or OCW or, erm, TNA. You should look that up. He was like a parody on Fedor or something.

 

[hunterXhunter21]

He had a feud for the IC belt when he first came in. IIRC he wont it his first match. I remember not caring for him all that much till he started something with Stone Cold. I think that is when he first started the comedy stuff. So he has not always been a comedy wrestler.

 

[drobs85]

I think he could, i remember in 2007, his intercontinental title matches with Umaga. Although Umaga pretty much dominated, Santino still showed that he could compete. But under his current persona, he wouldn't look right doing any kind of serious "wrestling moves". At least back then his character wasn't as idiotic "goof troop" as now, as a matter a act he hardly ever talked. Now he can't shut up.

 

[Vash21]

Not suggesting that he is the 2nd coming of Kurt Angle or anything, all he ever seems to do is prance around a throw a punch or two, but he is booked to lose. Granted the guy is making a pretty good living losing, but was just wondering if there could be more there.

 

[InterestingDrug]

I think he can wrestle. Obviously he wouldnt have gotten the original contract if he couldnt. He's stuck in a comedy gimmick. He's so deep into the character that I doubt he'll ever be considered a serious wrestler. After all the crap his character has gone through, you'd think they'd give him an opportunity to actually work a real program, but once again, not sure the people will actually take it seriously.

 

[KnowYoRole]

I think he can. He did MMA in japan for several years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santino_Marella

"Carelli, an Italian-Canadian, was born in Mississauga, Ontario and attended Elizabeth Simcoe P.S. in Canada. He was a mixed martial artist in Japan for several years before moving to the United States in May 2005 to learn to become a professional wrestler."

Yep. I just wish we could have seen more of his wrestling ability though, because aside from his first few matches in the WWE we haven't seen him wrestle. I feel if they really let him go, he'd surprise.

 

[Widdows]

The day Santino starts chain wrestling and doing German Suplexes is the day that I, erm-- it's the day that I say, "That's odd - Santino is chain wrestling and doing German Suplexes." In his current iteration, I expect he probably just prances around and throws a punch or two every now and then. Y'know, on the rare occasion he wrestles.

Though he had an MMA gimmick in FCW or OCW or, erm, TNA. You should look that up. He was like a parody on Fedor or something.

The MMA gimmick was on WWE house shows. Marella Martial Arts or something.

The 'Longest Intercontinental Champion of all the times' gimmick was pretty cool and should have gone longer, but was randomly ended by Regal. Backstage comedy skits with guest hosts hurt his credibility, so needs to be in a serious program. Hell, why not William Regal?

 

[Vash21]

The MMA gimmick was on WWE house shows. Marella Martial Arts or something.

The 'Longest Intercontinental Champion of all the times' gimmick was pretty cool and should have gone longer, but was randomly ended by Regal. Backstage comedy skits with guest hosts hurt his credibility, so needs to be in a serious program. Hell, why not William Regal?

Unfortunatly with his latest suspension I feel like Regal is toxic, seemed like he was in line for a really nice push an then he farked it up. Guy is money on the mic and good in the ring, things just always seem to come along to derail him.

 

[Goliath Uterus]

Yes, ive seen Santino do some pretty immpressive stuff, in OVW he (like previously stated) had a serious MMA gimmick and he chain wrestled and did suplexes and stuff of that nature, he was no Kurt Angle but i thought he was a fine wrestler. I dont mind his current gimmick though, he's a good comedy dude and I dont think we'll ever get a chance to see his actual wrestling skills unless he gets fired by WWE.

 

[JJ15776]

He's already been a heel. Beth Phoenix...Glamarella...it was amusing.

And yes, he can wrestle. But he's more entertaining being funny than being a serious wrestler. Ergo, he does more funny than serious wrestling. It'd be a waste of his talents to have him get in the ring and try to be Kurt Angle. That'd be like hiring Lance Storm and having him do a standup act every week.

 

[grillzman859]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZMrOV22rRc : Santino's Old Gimmick

Man He Looked Amazing In His Matches. I Wish I Got To See That B4 He Got Into Comedy
But Hey Look At It This Way: He's Always Got a Spot On TV and Majority Of The People Who Can Wrestle, Cant Seem To See The Light Of Day. I Hate To Say It But If It Aint Broke Don't Fix it

 

[wushady]

There's no doubt Santino can wrestle he's a talented shoot fighter and has a martial arts background. I think if done right he could brake away from his comedy jobber gimmick and be a serious heel. It wont be easy though he plays the goofball character very well.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Unfortunately it no longer matters whether or not Santino can actually wrestle or not, because once a character turns into a full comedic character like he has, it's almost impossible to break free of this perception and ever be taken seriously again, whether it be face or heel.

Much like Doink the Clown, who originated as a legitimate heel character with tremendous promise in the WWE, but who was doomed to comedic death once he teamed up with Dink and was turned into a farce as opposed to a serious heel wrestler.

Santino will simply continue acting silly and performing his comedic gold, but beyond this, he's done.

 

[Blush]

I went to a show and saw him wrestle a few weeks before he debuted on TV, I was impressed and wondered who he was. For me, he's much better as a goofy character rather than a serious one. He's pretty good at it, but there's nothing to say that a comedy wrestler can't pull off some impressive stuff every now and again.

 

[LigerBomb]

Yes, he used a Russian gimmick a bit back in OVW. He was Boris or some such nonsense. He had a (kayfabe) sambo background I believe and he was actually decent in the ring. Basically he was the gimmick they eventually gave to Koslov. I don't know if he ever pulled it off that well though as his Russian accent was shit, and I think he was basically doing an Ivan Drago parody and was imo sneaking in a bit of subtle humor. Observe:

 

[MEGAFAN420]

We know that the masses that watch WWE Monday Night Raw watch it for the "entertainment" more than for the wrestling. Santino looked great when he defeated Umaga for the IC Title years ago. Lashley helped him, but he won. He had another impressive title run where he was trying to beat the Honkey Tonk Man's title reign. The weekly "Honky Meter" segments showed how Santino could be used in a comedic role and flourish.

What fan in their right mind, who wants to watch wrestling, would vote for a Dance Contest instead of a wrestling match? The "Viewers Choice" segments were all obviously pre-planned, putting Santino in his role of the funny one to laugh at every monday.

Tune in Monday to crack up laughing at Santino's unibrow! I prefer an actual "wrestling" show like Smackdown and TNA Impact. I can't wait for this sick wrestling show that will debut on MTV2. Luchadores doing incredible wrestling stunts!

 

[shafe_41]

Ugh...

No Santino can't wrestle. He got into the WWE because of his comic chops. Wrestling was not an important factor in the WWE signing Santino in the first place.

Of course Santino can wrestle and I'll bet dollars to doughnuts he's probably one of the better ones in the company. When he was set to debut the first time, he was set up to be lackey or someone that was trained by Kurt Angle. Now if your first gimmick coming up into the WWE was going to be someone trained by Angle, you have to have some talent. Nuff said.

 

[Hawkeye]

He's trained in judo and a former MMA fighter,so there's that.
In an interview with WWE magazine,he said the gimmick actually came about from his practical jokes in the locker room.The superstars think he's hilarious and he loves to make people laugh and the rest is history.

 

[Klown_Karnage]

There's something that many wrestling fans forget: it's just as much about receiving punishment as it is delivering it. When it comes to receiving, few are better than Santino, particularly in a comedic sense. Athletically, he's very graceful and knows how to "take the fall" without getting hurt almost all of the time. He sells like mad and can do a punch-drunk walk every bit as good as Ric Flair. Yes, he doesn't deliver punishment much, just in little flurries, but those are enough to show that he can do it and do it well.

My favorite matches are ones he wins "by accident" and not necessarily with the help of anyone else. Just an opportunity half-consciously taken advantage of. It takes someone who knows how to wrestle extremely well to know how to do it so comically.

 

[huwtimbrell38]

I personally love Santinos comedy gimmick but if the rumors are true then in the near future Santino may well get in some higher profile matches when WWE start pushing the "Smaller" wrestlers.

While i doubt he will ever be main event at the very least he will be able to have matches with the likes of Bourne, Danielson (if and when he returns) Rhodes and Gabriel. Especially against smaller heels he could show a bit of promise in matches, pull off some of his moves then get beaten down and surely the fact he is so over with the crowds would make him help heels get over further.

And there is a lot to be said about talent like Santino who can make their opponents look a million bucks while still remaining over, something Santino has mastered....id rather be an excellent, loved Jobber than a midcarder no one will remember lol

 

[TokiRKO]

He's a very good wrestler, It's just he markets better by making little kids laugh with his cobra thing and acting like a tool. With Vladimir Kozlov being an accomplished Ukrainian Sambo artist I'm hoping this teaming will cause Santino to utilise his REAL skills

 

[Tanned Sheamus 2.0]

Yeah he can wrestle. he first started in WWE in a raw in milan just after WM23. Mcmahon had Umaga as his 'Muscle' and said Umaga would defend his title against anyone in the crowd who would take him on. he picked Santino out the crowd and as the match started, Lashley (Who was feuding with Umaga at the time) Speared Umaga and santino pinned him to become I-C champ. nothing happened then really until Night Of Champions, when umaga beat him down so badly he got DQed. give it a couple of Raws later and Santino dropped the title to Umaga, we didnt see him on T.V for a while, and then the next time I remember seeing him was as a heel with Maria as his Girlfriend/Valet.

 

[HBKevin]

Yep, he can wrestle. Look up a video online of when he debuted a while back. He won the IC title I believe, shortly after debuting. At first his gimmick was serious, and he showed he could wrestle. But he's so naturally gifted at comedy that he went in that direction very quickly.

 

[klunderbunker]

These kind of questions never cease to make me chuckle.

He's a professional wrestler. Nah he can't wrestle. Seriously, why are you asking this? I'm sure Vince just lets him into the ring with no training or experience or anything at all like that. They just hope he doesn't kill someone every time he's out there.

He plays a comedy character and nothing more. His character is supposed to look inept. We have guys like Cena and Orton to do the heavy lifting. Santino is there to get people to laugh. Why should he wrestle when he's better at something else? Of course he can wrestle. He's just better at comedy.