Santino Marella is one of the most popular characters in WWE history. And his infamous ‘Cobra’ captured the hearts of fans around the globe.
Although his personality alone was sometimes to keep fans glued to the screen, he provided far more to the company than merely comic relief.
His debut alone highlighted his immense talent. He was in attendance at a live Raw event in Milan in 2007. Out of nowhere, Vince McMahon selected him to take on Umaga, who was the Intercontinental Champion.
In the eyes of the fans in attendance, Marella was just another fan – plucked out of nowhere to take on one of the most terrifying wrestlers in the company. He resembled a lamb going to slaughter. But the Canadian had, in fact, signed with WWE in 2005 and was making his main roster debut.
He defeated ‘The Samoan Bulldozer’, with a fair amount of help from Bobby Lashley, to win the Intercontinental Championship in a remarkable upset.
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He went on to claim further successes, forming the popular ‘Glamarella’ team alongside Beth Phoenix. Marella won his second Intercontinental Championship during their on-screen partnership.
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He then became United States Champion by defeating Jack Swagger, before joining forces with the terrifying Vladimir Kozlov. They became the definition of a chalk and cheese partnership.
Somehow, it worked, and they won the tag team belts. WWE fans remember Marella for his comedic personality, perhaps underrated in-ring ability, and championship pursuits. But they also remember his popular finishing move – ‘The Cobra’.
Santino Marella and his famous ‘Cobra‘
The simple yet effective move in which the Italian turned his hand into a snake before jabbing it at his opponent’s face encapsulated his popularity. It did look amusing, although would regularly be used to finish matches.
But how did he come up with such an inventive move, and how did John Cena convince him to keep using it? He revealed everything on this week’s ‘Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw‘.
Marella said: “Well, I was drinking at a bar, and some guy showed me this thing where he would just transform his arm into this little snake puppet thing.
“I didn’t even get it at the time. I looked at my buddy and said, ‘I don’t get it. What is that?’ He said, ‘It’s just a funny thing he does.’ Then the next time I saw him, he asked me, ‘Do you remember how to do it?’
“Then like, fast forward five years, I’m at a house show in Atlanta, and I think I was wrestling Chavo [Guerrero] or Carlito. I said, ‘I’m going to try something in my comeback. So I’m going to do like, you know, jab, jab, jab, this arm transformation thing, hit you with it, turn away, and I’ll do a schoolboy. It’s funny. I used to call it the schoolboy from hell, actually.
“So I did it at a live event. I told John Cena, ‘Hey, watch this. I’m going to try something’, and I did The Cobra. The audience laughed.”
“I came back, and he goes, ‘I would keep that if I were you. That was funny as hell,’ and so I just did it on the live events. It was always Cobra into the schoolboy from hell.”
He then revealed how Vince McMahon liked ‘The Cobra’, and Marella was asked to bring it out during televised matches.
“It took three weeks of doing it on television before I would gesture for it,” he said.
“I remember almost being blown away, like in shock that I would see the audience jumping out of their seats in the corner, in my peripheral vision.
“They were screaming for The Cobra. I did it for about a year without the sock. Then, you know, we developed some merchandise for it.”
Marella was released in 2016, two years after announcing his in-ring retirement due to neck surgery. But despite his release, Santino Marella and ‘The Cobra’ will live on forever.
Featured Image Credit: Getty