Gimmick Change: Santino

[nbieclkl91]

WWE just posted this and I have to say, Santino looks like he could be a serious competitor in this picture. There were rumours that Vince McMahon orignally planned for Santino to be brought in with his OVW gimmick which was a Russian MMA fighter. Most people know about Santino's MMA training background and his gym Battle Arts Academy so why not have him re-debut with a new, more serious gimmick?

He could say that for years, the WWE has been turning him into a joke and he is sick of it. Have him say that he is going to bring realism back into the WWE.

What do you guys think?

 

[TheICChampion]

I'm sorry and as much as I like Santino it would be the same thing if they start trying to book anyone from 3MB (except MAYBE Mcintyre) as a legit contender. They've ruined Santino to the point where it even seems unlikely that he'll win another US or IC title.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Personally, I'd like to see Santino get the opportunity. Santino is someone that's got a lot more capability in him than as a comedy mid-carder and that's pretty easy to see thanks to his character in and of itself. Santino's pretty over, especially for a comedy guy, he has a lot of genuine personality and that's able to shine through. Santino's also a legitimately skilled, serious martial artist, he's been studying Judo since the age of 9. He's obviously progressed exceptionally as he often uses some judo throws during his matches and he's able to do them with very little effort.

However, I simply don't see it going down for Santino. At 35 years of age, he could still implement a character change and progress further up the roster, but I don't see it as having much of a chance in happening. He's made something of a niche for himself in WWE and it's a niche that, as far as management is concerned, continues to pay off. This is just pure speculation on my part, but I honestly get the feeling that Santino is happy with where he is in WWE. Santino has ALWAYS gone that extra mile and done everything that officials have asked of him. I don't recall ever reading any sort of negative reports or backstage rumors on Santino as far as the locker room or management is concerned. For all

I like Santino all in all. He's also one of these wrestlers who tries his best with whatever he's given by management rather than bitching about it and I respect that. These days, it's becoming more and more common for wrestlers throughout the industry to cop an attitude suggesting that they're owed a big push or that a prime spot on the roster be handed to them on a silver platter. Santino may not go down as one of the all time greats when it's all said and done, but I have a feeling he makes pretty good money right now and he'll have a job with WWE in some way, shape or form for as long as he wants it. In some ways, Santino may be the one coming out ahead of some of the all time greats in the business because, frankly, a lot of them who're still around haven't got a pot to piss in.

 

[slasher2808]

I think he knows what cog in the machine he is, and he is fine with it. He has a gimmick that works for him he doesn't seem to mind doing what he loves and havi g a fun time about it. I do t think he needs to be serious as he wins his share of matchs still .... With a sock puppet
I honestly think way way way down the line he will be in the H.O.F for being a company guy with gimmick most people wouldnt make terrible because they would make the effort with it like he has.

 

[J.J.]

I like Santino where he's at. Some people are better fit in the mid card. Why can't people accept that? You can't have everyone being pushed into a world heavyweight title picture. I would much rather him be in the Intercontinental title picture or paired up with someone to be a contender in tag title picture.

 

[Gibby]

If they were going to do it my suggestion would be to give it the Backlund treatment. He just snaps. Cinches in a Fujiwara armbar or some nasty-looking judo submission for way too long and puts someone on the shelf. Have the commentators sell his background (note: they won't do this) and see where it goes. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. He doesn't need to be a top-carder but as far as I can see they're struggling for decent midcard feuds as much as anything else.

 

[Slash-LN]

I've been saying that exact thing for a long time now.

Have him about to hit the cobra and instead drop it off the ground and walk off.
Come a week or more later and just dismantle someone.
Cut a promo about how he was made into a joke and he's not putting up with it anymore.

Turn him into a machine like Taz was in ECW.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I like the idea of the Backlund "snapping" with this, but make it even more severe in that he takes down 2 or 3 people, refs/officials etc...and someone like Sheamus or even Cena of course that leads to a "suspension" and when he returns it's without the "goofiness"... He can drop the accent but keep the name and simply say he got tired of being though of as a joke when the reality is he could take apart the toughest guys on the roster... he runs down his achievements when he "wasn't serious" but now he really is serious... and he's already proven he can take the top man out whenever he likes.

 

[Cena Is A Punk Rocker]

Maybe Santino likes the role he is in right now? He gets TV time every week. He doesn't have to kill himself in the ring. He's very popular, especially with the kiddos. Sounds like a pretty sweet gig to me.

 

[Dagger Dias]

No. Santino has been booked as the resident comedy jobber ever since 2007. That is 7 years. SEVEN YEARS. In wrestling, that is an extremely long time. The Santino character should remain. He is hilarious and can be used to make others look stronger when they need a win going into a high profile match. The character is popular, as is his Cobra finisher. Why ruin that by putting him into some serious heel gimmick that we don't even know would be successful or not when what they currently have for him works so well? The addition of Emma with her silliness and her own Cobra helped. I like Santino exactly the way he is. The gimmick suggested in the opening post sounds boring to me and might work better for one of the other jobbers who aren't as popular as Santino. Perhaps one of the guys from 3MB. If the gimmick failed, the wrestler could just go back to jobbing again. Santino, on the other hand, might lose some fan interest if this fails. As the most popular jobber they have, and easily their funniest, I would not want to see that happen. Too risky.

 

[EastCoastFan]

Santino has done all he can with his goofy "funny foreigner" character. I say he should go for it and make the change. Comedy cuts both ways in wrestling: it can help get you over, but it also prevents you from going above a certain point on the roster.

 

[saint_edward]

Let Santino have some chance, yes he's been resident comedian/jobber/village idiot for a long time now (and that's not to mention his finisher...) but I'm gonna leave this here and I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned.

Elimination Chamber 2012. Bryan and Santinoo last men standing, showcased some of the best actual wrestling I'd seen in a long time and you legit thought Santino could take it. Just let the man wrestle, properly, no comedy, no 'Cobra', have him throw it away and go apesiht. Or tag team, I'm thinking with Kofi.

[YOUTUBE]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_5lcKJUd7qo[/YOUTUBE]

http://youtu.be/_5lcKJUd7qo

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I like the idea of the Backlund "snapping" with this, but make it even more severe in that he takes down 2 or 3 people, refs/officials etc...and someone like Sheamus or even Cena of course that leads to a "suspension" and when he returns it's without the "goofiness"... He can drop the accent but keep the name and simply say he got tired of being though of as a joke when the reality is he could take apart the toughest guys on the roster... he runs down his achievements when he "wasn't serious" but now he really is serious... and he's already proven he can take the top man out whenever he likes.

I'm not a Santino fan, although he does occasionally bring a smile to my face. I just don't tend to "get" most comedy characters in wrestling if they are put across as "joke" characters, like Marella is.

However, this "snapping" idea does sound interesting. I like the idea of him suddenly becoming vicious and locking in a deadly hold and refusing to break it "injuring" his opponent and then attacking a couple of other people, again putting them on the shelf, and suffering a suspension which leads to him coming back in a more serious gimmick without the silly accent.

I reckon this is probably the only way I could begin to think of Santino as a serious competitor, and I reckon it would be the most interesting thing he has ever done.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

The problem with the whole 'snapping' idea ala Crazy Bob Backlund... is that the second it happened, the crowd would cheer like mad at not only something cool happening, but also because this is the type of topic discussed time and again by the IWC (so and so deserves their shot and hey look, he's finally getting one).

One of the things that made Backlund's crazy character work was that it was completely out of character for him... and it made him a heel. The fans HATED how this guy they'd either once admired (if they were older fans), or been taught was so honorable (newer fans) was going out and hurting all their favorites every week with that chicken wing. It was a betrayal.

Try that today with Santino, and instead of feeling that betrayal, older fans would almost first be happy that they didn't have to see the comedy character anymore (that character is for kids). Like I said, they'd be cheering him because "he's finally getting his shot", since there's the mentality that anyone with any type of tenure just has to get their shot eventually. In the end, he'd be a bigger face, despite the fact that he'd be going out and kayfabe hurting people every week.

It won't and shouldn't happen. The guys got a great spot in the company. Makes great money (the main goal of any wrestler... don't let them kid you by saying otherwise), doesn't have to work too hard or any style that will cause him health issues when he's older... and he's probably got some of the best job security in the company (at least out of the rest of the mid-card), because his gimmick is so popular with kids.

There are a lot of guys in the wrestling world who would LOVE to be Santino.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Personally I have no interest whatsoever in seeing a gimmick change for Santino Marella. I think his character has been irreparably damaged in terms of being viewed as a serious competitor. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, as he has carved himself a very comfortable niche in the role he currently occupies, and probably has greater job security than half of the current roster. But I for one could never take him seriously as a serious character. He would be trying to be some sort of a badass, and all the while I'd be waiting for him to start to play his imaginary trombone, or pull a sock out of his trunks. After years of being very silly, and often entertaining, it simply wouldn't work for me to all of a sudden picture him in a different role. I didn't work for me with the dancing dinosaur. I didn't work for me on Thursday nights elsewhere. And it wouldn't work for me for Santino Marella. All that would accomplish is potentially ruining the character he already has, at which point, his WWE tenure would be essentially over.

 

[ocekit]

My problem with a serious gimmick change is that WWE would probably go too far and eliminate all the things that make Santino Marella interesting in the first place. But if they could incorporate some of his more fun and lighthearted characteristics even into a somewhat more serious character, then I'd be all for it. Let him be that kind of lighthearted character, but let him really wrestle like at the Elimination Chamber. People can appreciate humor even from serious competitors as long as there's a good balance and it's done right. Just look at Mick Foley.

One of the things that made Backlund's crazy character work was that it was completely out of character for him... and it made him a heel. The fans HATED how this guy they'd either once admired (if they were older fans), or been taught was so honorable (newer fans) was going out and hurting all their favorites every week with that chicken wing. It was a betrayal.

I also recall Backlund being fairly goofy at times, while still being a threat in the ring, so it is possible to balance that out. The business casual with the bowties and suspenders, the hyperactivity, only signing autographs if fans could recite the presidents in chronological order, etc.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

In Backlunds case of course the rib was on the fans in that the "nut job" side of it was his real persona backstage... the only bit that was played up was the "crazy" part when he would attack Bret... but the wordiness, overzealousness with fans and autographs and his views were all his own. Go back and look at that Philly Cheesesteak promo he did for KOTR, it's genius but none of it is really "scripted" it's just Bob going around Philly.

Santino can work like that too, he clearly HAS the comedic timing to "make funny" but he's obviously a different persona away from his gimmick. Letting that come to the fore more isn't a bad thing, losing the accent is a small thing but it would immediately raise his cred... ditching the sock and making "The Cobra" a more serious throat strike would raise it... ditching Emma with those 2 things and he's nearly there, regardless of snapping etc... that's just the vehicle...

I'd put money that IF they did it that way and just let him wrestle and beat some guys known for "tough" and ability with a more serious demeanour within 2 matches he'd be getting "awesome" chants for his matches and they have Adam Rose as his natural successor now for the goofy character... unless of course they're gonna "pull a Brodus" and use all this "snapping" stuff for him down the line...

At the end of the day being WWE's top comedy guy/jobber to the stars isn't a bad gig at all... Carelli would have taken it when he got slapped by Cornette for laughing at the Boogeyman... he gets more money than the jobbers cos he can sell merch, gets the odd "mini-push" and is featured on every game etc they release. Being employed in WWE for more than 5 years these days is an achievement whatever your gimmick... and it IS possible to go serious again, no one ever though Mark Henry would recover from "Sexual Chocolate" and fathering Mae's hand to become "Hall Of Pain" Mark and a World Champion...

 

[evildicey]

Like others I'm not a fan of Santino but I'm all for giving people a chance. What about a Rocky Balboa type character? Have him get his a** handed to him by another jobber then have a backstage reaction video of him thinking he's washed up.

Then basically have him plugged for a few weeks trying to find himself. They show him going back to his roots and training. Could even have him travel the world picking up wrestling techniques from Japan, Mexico etc

Then bring him back winning low key matches while still plugging his training etc. may work...

and seem as I'm a little drunk here's a few weird extras...

1) Have Bret Hart as his manager

2) Throw in a love interest in Adrain Neville

3) Have him draw in an iron man match with Sheamus

4) Have him win the rematch

5) Have Mark Henry kill Bret Hart and win the belt before Sheamus helps Santino reclaim the gold

6) Have Rusev destroy Sheamus and then Santino exacts revenge

I think could pretty much wrap up the US title picture for the next few years?

 

[Bear3209]

Santino and Emma are great as a pair but ... they are both needing a new gimmick ... Santino is a great MMA specialist .. Emma is one of his students ... the Accent .. yeah it works for him (he is from Italy) but we have heard him many times speak without the accent ..