John “Bradshaw” Layfield regaled “Something To Wrestle With” listeners with a humorous tale about WWE Hall of Famer Tito Santana’s challenging stint as a Spanish-language commentator, a situation JBL dubbed one of the “biggest ribs in WWE history,” though likely unintentional by Vince McMahon. “Tito didn’t speak much Spanish, and they put him at Spanish commentary,” JBL began, immediately setting up the absurdity of the situation.
He detailed how Santana’s broadcast partner, the esteemed Hugo Savinovich, repeatedly tried to intervene. “So Hugo goes to Vince, and goes, ‘Vince, you know, he’s not fluent in Spanish.’ And Vince goes, ‘He’ll be alright,'” JBL recounted, mimicking the exchange. “No, wait, no, no, he doesn’t speak the language he’s doing commentary in!” Despite these protests, the arrangement lasted for about a year. “They kept going, ‘Vince. He doesn’t speak Spanish. He just, like, says Ariba a bunch,'” JBL explained, highlighting how noticeable it was on the Spanish feed.
JBL speculated McMahon’s affection for Santana likely led to the awkward placement. “I think Vince loved Tito. He wanted to do commentary,” JBL reasoned. “I guess he thought he would learn the language, and so he put him on commentary. And Tito didn’t learn the language.” Savinovich reportedly did his best to help, feeding Santana lines and phrases, but the fast-paced nature of live wrestling commentary made it a comical struggle, solidifying it as a legendary, if perhaps unintentional, backstage joke in JBL’s memory.
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