Santino Marella had one of the most unique and memorable WWE debuts in recent years, emerging from the crowd to defeat the unstoppable juggernaut (and Racial Caricature Honorable Mention recipient) Umaga to win the Intercontinental Title, with a little help from Bobby Lashley. WWE booked that first title run as they do so many, with the champion eking out victories on account of regular outside interference.
All the while, Marella spoke in an obviously affected Mario-esque Italian accent while mangling every third word. His character then developed into a big-mouthed braggart, referred to as the "Braggadocious Italian Superstar." More recently, Marella has morphed into a comically inept face character, bringing multiple stereotypes together by teaming up with Russian Vladimir Kozlov, dating Fijian Tamina and adopting an overwhelmingly wacky martial arts attack called "The Cobra."
