#10 – Santino Marella
In 2012, one of the most unlikely challengers to the World Heavyweight Championship stepped inside the Elimination Chamber and, against incredible odds – including a 500-pound giant – he almost emerged victorious. That man was Santino Marella.
On paper, I realize how ridiculous it might be to have Santino on a list that includes two Hall of Famers and – well – seven future Hall of Famers. In fact, Santino is probably the only name on this last that won't be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and you can form your own opinions on that, to be discussed a different day. But the day I want to talk about is actually February 17th, 2012, two nights before the Elimination Chamber PPV. In order to replace Randy Orton in the Chamber match, Smackdown hosted an over-the-top battle royale to determine the final entrant into Sunday's match. Down to the final four, Santino first eliminated Drew McIntyre, then big Zeke Jackson, and finally David Otunga to win the match.
That Smackdown crowd was hot for Santino's major upset victory, but not nerely as hot as they would be at the Elimination Chamber PPV two days later. After picking up two surprise eliminations over Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes, Santino came face to face with World Champion Daniel Bryan. He would hit The Cobra, drawing the single biggest reaction of his career, but eventually tapped out to the No Lock.
Santino is the ultimate underdog, because nobody expects him to actually win anything, but he plays his character so well that he's got thousands of supporters in every arena around the world. That brief window of opportunity against Daniel Bryan gave the fans something totally unexpected, and in my mind proved that Santino could hold a major championship in the WWE, at least for a short while. Santino's moment may not have been the biggest or most memorable moment in Elimination Chamber, but it was good enough to land him a spot on this list.
