Santino Marella Was Sick Heading Into WWE Royal Rumble

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the Women’s Royal Rumble was the return of Santina Marella. Santina, the “sister” of Santino Marella, had not been seen since 2009 when she was fired by Donald Trump. She previously won the Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal. 

Speaking to Corey Graves on WWE After The Bell, Santino discussed how Santina’s appearance came about and how he was feeling going into the event. 

“I can have a match or two, I can’t go on the road full-time, but I can definitely be eliminated from a battle royal. I just put my name in [drumroll] as Santina. I was like, ‘Oh, man. Alright, let’s make a moment and have fun with it.’ I got sick like two days before I started feeling it coming on. The day before, I had a 15 hour day, and we had one of our shows at BattleArts. I got four hours sleep, flew in Sunday, and I was not feeling well at all. I just had to gut it out. Seeing all your friends picks up your spirits, but it was a rough day. But when you go through that curtain, you are oblivious to anything that is wrong with you. That audience completely electrifies you. There’s all this energy and it’s incredible. But it was a tough day,”  he said. 

Santina, who entered at number 29, eliminated herself from the Women’s Royal Rumble with the cobra. She lasted just over a minute in the bout. 

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