10 Underrated Wrestling Partnerships

4. Beth Phoenix & Santino Marella

Santino Marella Beth Phoenix
WWE.com

The odd couple dynamic became something Santino Marella was known for. His tag-team with main event flop Vladimir Kozlov had people interested in the big Ukrainian for the first time during his run, and an early romance with Maria Kanellis provided some giggles.

Not quite as many laughs as his 'Glamarella' duo with Beth Phoenix did however.

The confused look on Phoenix and Marella's faces on a 2008 episode of Raw said it all. They were falling in love, and neither knew what to do about it after sharing a kiss. Their tale of a strong, independent female succumbing to the weird charms of a comedic Italian sporting quite the monobrow delighted fans, and it turned them into quasi-babyfaces.

Marella's constant mispronunciations had Beth pulling out some killer facial expressions, and Phoenix's more dominant in-ring work had Santino acting like a cheerleader at times. It didn't hurt that Marella's amusing Intercontinental Title reign happened during their run together.

Son-a-ma-gun.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.