Watch: Great Khali and Jinder Mahal take on Santino Marella's cobra

In 2007, Santino Marella made his debut as an Italian "fan" who unexpectedly won the Intercontinental Title. WWE turned him villainous since fans didn't like him as an underdog. His embrace of his image as a crazy Italian, his mastery of the English language, and his goofiness were what made it truly succeed. For a very long time, Santino was a guaranteed source of serious chuckles for WWE TV.

One of the wildest and most entertaining characters in WWE history is Santino Marella. Vince McMahon selected him as a "fan" from the Milan crowd to battle Umaga for the Intercontinental title; however, it was Bobby Lashley who helped him win the title. He quickly changed from being a serious wrestler to a more lighthearted one, participating in humorous skits with Roddy Piper and Stone Cold Steve Austin, among others.

Watch here the video:

Mdrr donc la chausette de Santino Marella se fait donc pas dompter par les flûtes de Great Khali et Jinder Mahal???? https://t.co/l8QzmT8OC9 pic.twitter.com/MP5uMsmHE6

— Blast (@Blastlcoms) March 15, 2024

With The Great Khali and Jinder Mahal in 2013, he elevated things to an absurd level. In addition to his connections with several WWE icons, Santino holds the record for the fastest elimination from the Royal Rumble, coming in at 1.9 seconds, and he won the first-ever "oeMiss WrestleMania" battle royale as "Santina," his apparent twin sister (which says a lot about women's wrestling at the time). Both incidents happened in 2009.

Santino Cobra was a puppet

On the September 27, 2013, broadcast of Smackdown, Santino lined up for his "cobra" finishing, which featured a sock a la Mick Foley, at the end of a brief encounter with Heath Slater. Flute-playing Indian wrestlers the Great Khali and Indo-Canadian Jinder Mahal were brought in to "charm" Marella's glorified sock puppet. Marella, confronting Heath Slater, responded appropriately. His sock puppet got caught between two flutes and had a mind of its own. Finally, Khali, the babyface flute, triumphed.

This incident on a wrestling program was somehow made tolerable by Santino, who always performed his humorous roles so brilliantly. He was positioned opposite Heath Slater, another wrestler who would go on to become well-known for his superb sense of humour, which was perfect.