Black Widow
04-29-2008, 07:37 PM
Some of Anthony Marella’s fondest childhood memories are of watching Saturday afternoon wrestling with his brother and father in their Mississauga home.
Not only was it a wonderful bonding experience, but it also created a passion for the ‘sport’ in the young Marella, and a desire to emulate the likes of Hulk Hogan and The British Bulldog.
Not only did Marella enter the ring and become a professional wrestler, but he hit the big time. As Santino Marella, the arrogant, loudmouth, boastful and misogynistic Italian grappler, he plays a prominent role in the biggest pro wrestling entity on the planet, World Wrestling Entertainment.
Marella is part of a WWE Raw card coming to the Barrie Molson Centre on Sunday, May 4, at 5 p.m. Also on the card are the likes of Triple H, world champ Randy Orton, Hardcore Holly, Umaga and Chris Jericho.
He recently marked one year in the WWE, in what has been a meteoric rise to the top of the business. While he dabbled in pro wrestling on a few independent cards throughout the late 1990s, it wasn’t until 2002 that he really started to train seriously with a career in mind.
He worked the circuit in Ontario, and then went to Japan for a time, before deciding to move back to North America to train with the WWE’s developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).
“I went down to OVW, in Louisville, Kentucky … and went there with a car full of stuff and some dreams. And I showed up and went to the beginner’s class, and then the intermediate class with Rip Rogers, and they were liking what I was doing, and I knew I was on the radar so to speak,” he told Simcoe.com.
“Then, in August of 2006, I got the call and was offered a job with (WWE). Then I went down to the OVW for a few more months in the developmental territory, until I got called up to Raw full time. So it has been a pretty quick ride. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
On April 16, 2007, Raw was in Milan, Italy, and the character of Santino Marella was just a spectator at ringside when he answered a challenge to take on the then Intercontinental champion, a massive Samoan wrestler named Umaga. With the help of another wrestler, Bobby Lashley, Marella surprisingly won the title.
Initially portrayed as a ‘babyface’ or good guy, the Santino Marella character soon became obnoxious and boastful and turned into ‘heel’ or bad guy. But he was a heel that the fans loved because he often lost in humiliating fashion and was such an over-the-top character.
“The evolution of the character kind of happened on its own. I have a good relationship with the writers in the office and it was one of those things where they have to gain confidence in you and your ideas,” he said. “And everybody’s really happy about the character.”
Even though he is a bad guy, Marella feeds off the energy of the crowd, with jeers meaning the same thing as cheers in the wrestling game.
“When they cheer, they’re giving you back so much more than you give them, it’s a reciprocating kind of energy thing,” he said. “You don’t have an individual relationship with one person, but you have it with the crowd. If there’s no crowd, there’s no wrestling. Being on stage and performing in front of so many people is exhilarating, you know? It’s addictive … I can’t picture myself doing anything else.”
WWE wrestlers are often on the road for more than 300 days a year, which can be a taxing experience. But Marella seems to thrive on the lifestyle.
“The wrestling is the easy part. That’s not the hard part. It’s definitely the travel, and the hotels. Sometimes you get there at three in the morning. You have to get up in the morning, and I have a GPS, so I can find a local gym and tanning salon and find a Denny’s and get some egg whites, and that kind of stuff. And you have good friends and travel partners,” he said.
“I don’t know, but I think I am born for the road. For some people it’s really tough, you have responsibilities at home that you just can’t get out of your mind. I am able to function on the road, definitely. I love it. I am not one to sit still anyways. A new town every day is fine by me.”
“You have to be really professional. You have to be disciplined and push yourself. There’s a lot of freedom, but the freedom is only given because you’ve proved that you are being responsible,” he said.
“There’s some people in the past that just couldn’t handle the road. I mean, our current locker room is pretty good, everyone’s pretty cool, everyone’s pretty responsible and professional … this isn’t going to last forever, so you might as well be as focused and disciplined as you can.”
Injuries are also a fact of life for professional wrestlers. The difference is that there is no such thing as a disabled list or timeouts. Unless it is an injury requiring surgery, you work through it, even in the middle of a match.
“I separated my shoulder last summer, and the match was almost done anyways, and we were about to finish it, and I definitely had to finish. And I looked to my right, and my collarbone was, like, sticking out. It was pretty gross. But the show must go on,” he said.
“There are a lot of aches and pains in the this business. Currently, I am not injured at all... well, actually, my ankle is a little sore, but I should be okay in a couple of days … sometimes it’s not that you’re hurt all the time, it’s just that when you’re hurt, you can’t stop working. That’s when it gets hard. That’s when you’ve got to work around it, and we’ve got real good trainers, taping up body parts and making sure we’re not getting worse … they take really good care of us.”
Marella has more than a passing acquaintance with Simcoe County. His mother is from the Midland/Penetang area, and he still has family and friends in the region. He used to visit his grandparents ever couple of weekends, “so I am quite familiar with that area of VRland up there,” he said.
Tickets for the WWE Raw Wrestlemania Revenge tour date at the Barrie Molson Centre are available at the box office, Ticketmaster outlets, online or by calling 739-7666.
Other superstars appearing on the bill include Snitsky, D.H. Smith (son of Davey Boy Smith), William Regal, Beth Phoenix, Candice, Maria and more. The card is subject to change without notice.
bluemountainscourierherald.com
Not only was it a wonderful bonding experience, but it also created a passion for the ‘sport’ in the young Marella, and a desire to emulate the likes of Hulk Hogan and The British Bulldog.
Not only did Marella enter the ring and become a professional wrestler, but he hit the big time. As Santino Marella, the arrogant, loudmouth, boastful and misogynistic Italian grappler, he plays a prominent role in the biggest pro wrestling entity on the planet, World Wrestling Entertainment.
Marella is part of a WWE Raw card coming to the Barrie Molson Centre on Sunday, May 4, at 5 p.m. Also on the card are the likes of Triple H, world champ Randy Orton, Hardcore Holly, Umaga and Chris Jericho.
He recently marked one year in the WWE, in what has been a meteoric rise to the top of the business. While he dabbled in pro wrestling on a few independent cards throughout the late 1990s, it wasn’t until 2002 that he really started to train seriously with a career in mind.
He worked the circuit in Ontario, and then went to Japan for a time, before deciding to move back to North America to train with the WWE’s developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).
“I went down to OVW, in Louisville, Kentucky … and went there with a car full of stuff and some dreams. And I showed up and went to the beginner’s class, and then the intermediate class with Rip Rogers, and they were liking what I was doing, and I knew I was on the radar so to speak,” he told Simcoe.com.
“Then, in August of 2006, I got the call and was offered a job with (WWE). Then I went down to the OVW for a few more months in the developmental territory, until I got called up to Raw full time. So it has been a pretty quick ride. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
On April 16, 2007, Raw was in Milan, Italy, and the character of Santino Marella was just a spectator at ringside when he answered a challenge to take on the then Intercontinental champion, a massive Samoan wrestler named Umaga. With the help of another wrestler, Bobby Lashley, Marella surprisingly won the title.
Initially portrayed as a ‘babyface’ or good guy, the Santino Marella character soon became obnoxious and boastful and turned into ‘heel’ or bad guy. But he was a heel that the fans loved because he often lost in humiliating fashion and was such an over-the-top character.
“The evolution of the character kind of happened on its own. I have a good relationship with the writers in the office and it was one of those things where they have to gain confidence in you and your ideas,” he said. “And everybody’s really happy about the character.”
Even though he is a bad guy, Marella feeds off the energy of the crowd, with jeers meaning the same thing as cheers in the wrestling game.
“When they cheer, they’re giving you back so much more than you give them, it’s a reciprocating kind of energy thing,” he said. “You don’t have an individual relationship with one person, but you have it with the crowd. If there’s no crowd, there’s no wrestling. Being on stage and performing in front of so many people is exhilarating, you know? It’s addictive … I can’t picture myself doing anything else.”
WWE wrestlers are often on the road for more than 300 days a year, which can be a taxing experience. But Marella seems to thrive on the lifestyle.
“The wrestling is the easy part. That’s not the hard part. It’s definitely the travel, and the hotels. Sometimes you get there at three in the morning. You have to get up in the morning, and I have a GPS, so I can find a local gym and tanning salon and find a Denny’s and get some egg whites, and that kind of stuff. And you have good friends and travel partners,” he said.
“I don’t know, but I think I am born for the road. For some people it’s really tough, you have responsibilities at home that you just can’t get out of your mind. I am able to function on the road, definitely. I love it. I am not one to sit still anyways. A new town every day is fine by me.”
“You have to be really professional. You have to be disciplined and push yourself. There’s a lot of freedom, but the freedom is only given because you’ve proved that you are being responsible,” he said.
“There’s some people in the past that just couldn’t handle the road. I mean, our current locker room is pretty good, everyone’s pretty cool, everyone’s pretty responsible and professional … this isn’t going to last forever, so you might as well be as focused and disciplined as you can.”
Injuries are also a fact of life for professional wrestlers. The difference is that there is no such thing as a disabled list or timeouts. Unless it is an injury requiring surgery, you work through it, even in the middle of a match.
“I separated my shoulder last summer, and the match was almost done anyways, and we were about to finish it, and I definitely had to finish. And I looked to my right, and my collarbone was, like, sticking out. It was pretty gross. But the show must go on,” he said.
“There are a lot of aches and pains in the this business. Currently, I am not injured at all... well, actually, my ankle is a little sore, but I should be okay in a couple of days … sometimes it’s not that you’re hurt all the time, it’s just that when you’re hurt, you can’t stop working. That’s when it gets hard. That’s when you’ve got to work around it, and we’ve got real good trainers, taping up body parts and making sure we’re not getting worse … they take really good care of us.”
Marella has more than a passing acquaintance with Simcoe County. His mother is from the Midland/Penetang area, and he still has family and friends in the region. He used to visit his grandparents ever couple of weekends, “so I am quite familiar with that area of VRland up there,” he said.
Tickets for the WWE Raw Wrestlemania Revenge tour date at the Barrie Molson Centre are available at the box office, Ticketmaster outlets, online or by calling 739-7666.
Other superstars appearing on the bill include Snitsky, D.H. Smith (son of Davey Boy Smith), William Regal, Beth Phoenix, Candice, Maria and more. The card is subject to change without notice.
bluemountainscourierherald.com