Reports are coming in that WWE superstar Santino Marella is retiring from in-ring action at a live show in Canada this weekend. Like so many others, he has injured his neck numerous times, the lastest being about three weeks ago. He has decided to retire from competition while he is still able to walk.
I personally think it's a shame that this became a necessity. Santino was never going to be a WWE World Heavyweight Champion, but he was one of those guys who would do anything the company asked him to do, whether it meant putting over rookies who couldn't tell a ring post from a ringing phone, taking a pie to the face, wearing a stocking on his arm and yelling "COBRA!!!!" or whatever was needed. He could also make pretty much anyone look good in the ring.
My favorite Santino memory is of the tea party he hosted for Kozlov and "Shay-Moose." Santino is, in my opinion, the funniest man the WWE has seen in many years--maybe ever. This is a man who knows that wrestling is scripted, and sometimes it is meant to be absurd. He made the most of it. For example, his "Honk-a-Meter" during his heel Intercontinental Championship title reign with Beth Phoenix at his side, while an absurdity in comparing his (at the time) 2-week reign with Honky-Tonk Man's 54-week reign, added a measure of legitimacy to a title that too often has been treated like a ping pong ball.
Thank you for the laughs, Santino. I hope you stay around the company as long as they'll let you. We need you to remind us of the inanity so we don't take this business too seriously.
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