Santino Marella walked out of Las Vegas with some new hardware — and apparently a beat-up body to go with it. The former WWE star captured a gold medal at Jiu-Jitsu Con after competing in the Master 5 purple belt super heavyweight division.
Marella represented Zenith BJJ in the tournament and finished first in a field of five competitors, according to the official IBJJF results.
The win clearly came at a price. After returning home to Toronto, Marella revealed just how rough the weekend was on him, saying his jaw was out of alignment, his back was hurting and his feet were bleeding — but the gold medal made it all worth it.
“Just landed back in Toronto. It was a hard-fought weekend to say the least. My jaw is not perfectly aligned. My back is a bit fucked up, & my feet are bleeding, I’m afraid to take off my shoes. We got gold though so that’s a sweet feeling. Thank you to everybody is all I can say at this time.”
Marella has stayed heavily involved in combat sports long after his WWE run, and this time he proved he can still get the job done when there’s a medal on the line. He may have left Vegas battered, but he also left as the winner of his division.
Santino clearly paid for this one physically, but gold is gold — and that medal will probably feel even sweeter once his body stops reminding him what it took to earn it.
What do you think about Santino Marella winning gold at Jiu-Jitsu Con? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
