Santino Marella’s in-ring return has a happy ending at Impact Rebellion PPV

Santino Marella graced the squared circle for his first televised match in nine years, and it came with a happy ending.

The backstory to the contest involved the nefarious Design faction. Step 7 of Sami Callihan’s initiation demanded that he eliminate all other forms of authority in his life in order to remain loyal to the Design. That led to a backstage attack on Santino, who is the acting Director of Authority in Impact. Santino had to stand up for himself and remind the world who he is. Santino was joined by Dango and Joe Hendry to wrestle the full Design crew at the Rebellion PPV.

Santino’s return to the ring was in front of his young son in attendance. It was the first time his boy would be able to see papa wrestle live. The match also happened to take place in Santino’s home area of Milan, Italy Toronto, Canada.

The odds were in favor of the Design for 4-on-3 tag action. Santino entered early for a number of judo tosses until the numbers got him. Rinse and repeat the numbers game when Hendry and Dango tagged in.

Santino had a proper hot tag moment to run wild. He dropped low in the splits to duck a clothesline from Deaner. Santino executed a hip toss and a falling headbutt.

The match broke down into a melee. Hendry powered up for a double fallaway slam to Angels and Deaner. Dango leaped over the ropes onto Angels and Kon on the floor.

Deaner clobbered Santino with a clothesline. The Design leader ordered Callihan to finish Santino with a baseball bat. Callihan swerved to hit Deaner instead. The Death Machine was done with the Design and walked out on the match.

Deaner was ripe for the picking, and the crowd chanted for the Cobra. Santino obliged to set up the lethal strike for the win.

It had been a long time since Santino rocked the ring, but he found success on this evening. He hit his signature sequences bringing joy to the world.

What’s your take on Santino’s return to the ring?

Get the full results for the Rebellion PPV here. The show is available for streaming through through Fite TV.