An idea was pitched within WWE creative to have Santino Marella appear at Clash in Italy on May 31, according to WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select. No word on whether the pitch went anywhere.
The concept has an obvious storyline logic. Marella made his WWE debut during a live episode of Raw from Milan, Italy, where he was selected from the audience as a fan and proceeded to defeat Umaga for the Intercontinental Championship in his first match. The moment remains one of the most memorable debuts in Raw history.
Despite portraying an Italian stereotype on screen, Marella — whose real name is Anthony Carelli — is actually Canadian, born in Mississauga, Ontario. The Santino Marella character was billed from San Fili, Calabria, Italy.
Marella currently serves as on-screen director of authority in TNA and returned to WWE’s NXT brand in 2025 as part of the partnership between the two promotions. His main WWE career spanned 11 years from 2005 to 2016, during which he won the Intercontinental Championship twice, the United States Championship once, and the WWE Tag Team Championship once.
Clash in Italy takes place May 31 at Inalpi Arena in Turin and features Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther for the Undisputed WWE Championship, Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu in Tribal Combat for the World Heavyweight Championship, Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi, and Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill for the Women’s Championship.