Santino Marella has teased that an appearance at WWE Clash in Italy at the Inalpi Arena in Turin on May 31 would be a full circle moment for him, telling fans on X over the weekend that he is open to making his way back to WWE for the company’s first-ever Italian premium live event.
The conversation was triggered by a fan tweet wishing for Marella to appear at the show. The current TNA Director of Authority responded directly. “It would be a full circle moment for sure.”
Marella made his WWE televised debut on the April 16, 2007 episode of Raw from Milan, when Vince McMahon “selected” him from the crowd as Umaga’s Intercontinental Championship challenger and Marella won the title with an assist from Bobby Lashley.
Marella spent 11 years on the WWE main roster from 2007 to 2016 and is a two-time Intercontinental Champion, a one-time United States Champion, and a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion with Vladimir Kozlov. He was released by WWE in 2016 due to a neck injury that ultimately kept him out of the ring for years. He opened his Battle Arts Academy training school in Mississauga, Ontario in the wake of the release and stayed away from in-ring competition for over a decade.
He returned to wrestling through Impact/TNA in 2023 as the on-screen Director of Authority and re-engaged with WWE in 2025 through the WWE-TNA partnership, including a return to in-ring competition at NXT for the July 29, 2025 NXT North American Championship challenge against Ethan Page, his first WWE match in 11 years. He has made multiple authority-figure appearances on NXT TV through 2025 and 2026, including announcing cross-brand matches between NXT and TNA talent.
The Clash in Italy card so far includes:
- Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. GUNTHER
- AAA Mega Championship defense
It would be a full circle moment for sure. https://t.co/sjyl14eQPO
— Santino Marella (@milanmiracle) May 17, 2026
