10 WWE Wrestlers Whose Patriotism Limited Their Potential
5. Santino Marella
Santino Marella will without a doubt go down in the annals of WWE history as one of the biggest over-achievers of all-time. He debuted in the company as a "fan in the crowd" (i.e. a plant) and went on to usurp Umaga as the Intercontinental champion. Those type of characters don't last long, but Santino did thanks to his witty comedy and entertaining antics, gradually getting him over as a lovable loser over time.
The Milan Miracle wrestled for WWE for a whopping seven years, and in that time, he scored several championships including the Intercontinental, United States and WWE Tag Team titles. But could you imagine how much farther he would have gone had he not been saddled with a silly persona?
Yes, Santino thrived in the role and made the most of it, but if you watch back his performance in the 2012 Elimination Chamber match, you would be surprised how talented of a wrestler he actually is. That isn't to say he was destined to be a world champion (though he did come close on a few occasions), but the phony accent and Italian stereotype prevented him from becoming much more than what he was.
Worse yet, Santino was actually Canadian! That said, he did do a great job of acting Italian. He had me convinced for the longest time.