Santino Marella says his body will let him wrestle again, and he has a specific reason for wanting to.
Speaking with Cody Rhodes on What Do You Wanna Talk About?, the former Intercontinental Champion said stem cell treatments, PRP and red light therapy have changed what he is physically capable of. “My wrestling career ended because I was not capable. I’m capable again,” Marella said, adding that he can move in ways that surprise people, handsprings included. As for why he did the treatments, his reason is simple. “I want to wrestle in front of my son,” Marella said. His 7-year-old has never seen him compete live.
Rhodes immediately connected the motivation to Goldberg, who spoke for years about wanting to wrestle in front of his son before doing exactly that. Rhodes said he understood it right away, and Marella made the same point about his own kids: telling them what it takes is one thing, but he wants to show them.
Marella’s in-ring career effectively ended a decade ago. He underwent neck surgery in 2014, and as he worked back from that, his lower back gave out on him with degenerated discs. His farewell address in Toronto was widely taken as a retirement announcement, which he says on the podcast was misconstrued; he simply did not know if he would wrestle again and wanted the hometown crowd to know he was from Mississauga. WWE later opted not to invoke the injury extension on his contract, ending his run in 2016.
Marella is not the first wrestler to credit stem cell treatments. Kevin Nash has spoken positively about his results for years on his Kliq This podcast, recently detailing a treatment of roughly half a billion cells in a single session. Rey Mysterio has said the treatments “truly gave me longevity” and added years to his career. Many wrestlers have traveled to BioXcellerator in Medellin, Colombia for the procedure, and the client lists publicized over the years have included Nash, Mysterio, Edge, Bobby Lashley, Kurt Angle and Marella himself, among others. The results likely vary from person to person depending on how much damage a body has accumulated, but the track record of names in wrestling who swear by it keeps growing.
There is also precedent for comebacks that once seemed impossible. Edge and Christian Cage were both thought to be finished because of neck injuries and returned to have full second acts. Steve Austin came back for a match at WrestleMania 38 after 19 years away. Given all of that, I do not see it as out of the realm of possibility that we see Marella in a ring again.
Marella has spent the last three and a half years as TNA’s Director of Authority, a role he says made him fall in love with wrestling again through producing, coaching and creating moments. His daughter, Arianna Grace, is the reigning TNA Knockouts World Championship holder and has been signed to WWE’s NXT brand since 2022, working in TNA through the companies’ partnership. The two have already shared the ring, teaming together before she turned on him, and if his body cooperates, a father-daughter moment on a WWE stage would seem like the natural finish line.
As for what Marella has going on now, TNA Impact airs Thursday nights, and the company’s next pay-per-view, Lockdown, takes place Sunday, August 23 at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago. The night before, TNA hosts the Hardy Party fan event with Jeff and Matt Hardy at The Barn Hockey Bar in Chicago, with tickets at tnamerch.com and Lockdown tickets on Ticketmaster.
Marella has stayed competitive in the meantime. He won his division at the jujitsu world championships last year and competes again on September 5, saying he wants to keep winning so he can show his kids what it takes rather than just tell them. He also continues to run Battle Arts Academy, his training facility in Mississauga, Ontario.
The full conversation with Cody Rhodes covers his OVW days, the origin of the Cobra and plenty more, and is available now on What Do You Wanna Talk About?, a Fanatics and WWE production.
