Superstar Ink: Santino Marella
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Marella's strategic ink
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Unlike Jeff Hardy or Shannon Moore, who have no issues experimenting with tattoos on the chance they will look cool, Santino Marella goes with a more strategic approach in choosing his ink. “I try to get one in different stages of my life,” he said.
“The dragon on my forearm is protecting his treasure… just like I protect the things I treasure in my life,” Marella explained. “The winged figure on my right arm is like my spirit, always reaching for the top and aiming high.”
The Japanese writing on Marella’s left arm is the Judo dojo at which he trained. He admits those 20 years he spent training in martial arts prepared him to become a WWE Superstar.
"The horse tattoo, above the winged figure," Marella said, “is a strong animal that’s very stubborn. A horse won’t settle for anything less than what it wants – just like me.”
On the Superstar's chest is an image of Conan the Barbarian. “He was born a peasant in a common village and became king by his own hand. I too was born into a simple family and now I’m a WWE Superstar on a journey to become king of my domain.”
Finally, there’s the lion. “That was very painful and took nearly 13 hours to finish. The lion is the king of the jungle, and I have the king of the jungle watching my back as I go through my journey in WWE.”
Are there plans to get any more? “I get a tattoo when I feel compelled to get it based on its meaning,” Marella said. “It will represent something that’s part of me; I won’t say I won’t get more but I can’t say that I will, either.”
WWE.com
