Santino Marella Claims He Nearly Won WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Santino Marella experienced a decade-long WWE career where he was primarily used as comedic relief. There were a couple instances, however, where the "Milan Miracle" appeared to be on the verge of headlining WrestleMania. During the 2011 Royal Rumble match, it came down to Marella and Alberto Del Rio before Del Rio ultimately tossed him out. Then the following year, the World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber match saw Marella nearly beat Daniel Bryan to win the gold. During a recent appearance on "Insight," Marella recalled the raucous reactions he received.

"I didn't really realize the magnitude of the crowd reaction," Marella said. "But when I watch it back, even when I came back, [John] Cena's like, 'I know what I'm capable of and I could not get that crowd that hot tonight. That was insane.' I've had a handful of standing ovations in my career, and that was one of them when I came to the back. I honestly thought there was going to be an audible called and I was gonna win the title. Mike Chioda, he was watching Vince, and he also thought Vince was about to call an audible."

Marella shared he's not sure how close it was to happening, but he's seen it happen before. While he wasn't able to win a world title, Marella did capture the United States Championship a few weeks later and carried the title into WrestleMania 28. He initially retired in 2014 after several neck injuries, but has since competed several times on the indie scene. Marella recently signed with Impact Wrestling to serve as the on-air "Director of Authority."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Insight" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.