Santino Marella? *RAW Spoilers*

[Mr. Nerfect]

Wow. I don't know what to think about this. I love Anthony Carelli, aka Boris Alexiev (I've been singing his praises for months, trying not to go overboard and turn him into another Val Venis or Doug Basham), and this is the first time in WWE history someone has won the Intercontinental Title in their debut match with the WWE. Carlito did win it in his RAW debut, which they plugged for a few weeks, but he had already debuted on SmackDown! and been United States Champion.

I think this could work out. I think he needs an opponent for Backlash (probably Johnny Nitro), and I think he needs to go over. They really need to explain his background, though. It's all well and good that he beat Umaga by chance, but he now needs to reveal he has training of some kind. Maybe have him attend RAW because he was ironically hoping to seek employment with the WWE.

Anyway, I wish Anthony luck in the WWE, and I think he has a really bright future. I'm not going to complain about the guy getting the shot, or the guy winning, but I do wonder why they didn't give the IC Title to one of the former Full Blooded Italians on the roster.

Little Guido winning the IC Title from Umaga would have been HUGE. Guido is over like rover in Italy, and winning the IC Title would have been one of those moments that could have saved his career from becomming jobbertastic. Guido is a great wrestler, and a run on RAW working with guys like Johnny Nitro would only better them as performers. In an age where the WWE loves underdogs, Little Guido is a legit underdog because of his size, but he actually has the skill to make it look like he's legitimately beating the odds.

Vito winning the IC Title would have been promotion for his Playgirl magazine spread. He's been made into a somewhat credible singles star on SmackDown!, and we haven't seen him since (although he apparently appeared at the WrestleMania pre-show, as a lumberjack). With his new serious persona, Vito could have gotten a somewhat credible run on RAW, with potential to move up when he becomes more established as an Intercontinental Title-level competitor.

Chuck Palumbo winning is just something my creativity threw out there. Palumbo has never been too successful in singles runs, always seeming more of a tag guy. A win over Umaga would have gotten Palumbo there. Plus an IC Title win would have established him as a somewhat respected singles worker, doing some of the WWE's work for them. Palumbo is recogniseable from the Attitude era days (as are Guido and Vito, but Palumbo slightly moreso), so it might seem like more of another step in the journey of one man's career, which is always good.

I'm not complaining about the angle. I've wanted a surprise title change in the WWE for the longest time (unless it is London & Kendrick losing the WWE Tag Team Championship; if that makes me biased, so be it), and I'm a HUGE Boris Alexiev mark, and desperately want him to succeed in the WWE, but back before I actually figured out who he was, and thought he may have just been a local wrestler, who would drop the belt the following week, or get a decent reign, but just not be the most deserving guy, I thought, "Little Guido should be going over here."

So yeah, I'm kind of conflicted about the whole thing, and think it depends on where the WWE takes Marella. I'm curious to hear what everyone thinks about the new Intercontinental Champion.