Santino Marella: An Appreciation

A master of wrestling comedy
Photo Credit: WWE.com

I base a lot of what I think about a wrestling critic on their opinion of Santino Marella. Obviously, one has to account for taste, and Marella isn't everyone's cup of tea. However, I think you can criticize Marella without criticizing his place on the card. Comic relief is essential on any wrestling show, as if sweaty dudes and dudettes play fighting in skimpy spandex and boots or kickpads is meant to be taken completely seriously at all points in time during the show.

So whenever I see someone say Marella needs a serious gimmick or that he doesn't belong on WWE show or that people are embarrassed to see him "expose the business," I tend to tune a lot of what they have to say out. I could go on a rant about the reception of comic relief in wrestling, but I'd rather expound on why Marella is one of the most talented performers in WWE regardless of role. He could be the most gifted comedic performer in WWE's history, and I'm not sure the gap isn't as wide as the Grand Canyon.

His mastery of the comedic art, what has endeared him to crowds to the point where the roof of the TD Bank Garden would have blown off if he did indeed leave as Royal Rumble winner in 2011, is all about his merging of performance art and comedic acting into the art of professional wrestling, specifically through the realm of physical comedy.

I'm a huge fan of Chris Farley movies, which are heavily predicated on the late leading man crashing through things, walking into fixed objects, and wildly gesticulating. Marella may not have the substantial girth of Farley, but he certainly has the knack for for knowing which beats to hit. Whether he's going through his normal spots like the split-duck on a running clothesline into his hip toss or whether he's getting into exaggerated sells where he stumbles around punch drunk, he aces the role of merging physical comedy into an artform that is tailor made for it and yet is rarely utilized to its fullest potential.

This week on Main Event, he provided a singular reminder of why he's the best at what he does. Damien Sandow had him in the corner, slamming his face into the buckle. Marella wiggled free, continued to slam his face in the corner on his own in an attempt to psych-up then turned out towards the ring with a fierce look on his face before pratfalling to the mat. The sequence was so sublime in how well Marella bought into following through. He shows that entertaining a crowd is more than just looking incredible.

(Note: I haven't watched NXT this week yet, but apparently, he and Emma vs. Fandango and Summer Rae is another excellent example of his comedic chops.)

Every week Marella is on camera, he has at least one moment like the above if he's given more than a couple of minutes to work his magic. In a business where shitheads like Jim Cornette try to convince themselves as they're screaming to throngs of people who've made up their minds before turning on the television that funny doesn't equal money, Marella performs like he embraces being the jester. For that, he gets deserved adulation. Sure, he's not for everyone, but his place is not in doubt. Personally, I don't think WWE could have anyone better to draw laughs from their audiences.