Will WWE's Santino Marella Ever be Taken Seriously?

Santino Marella has been a comedic staple on Monday Night Raw for a long time now.  He is willing to do pretty much anything and that is why the WWE gives him so much TV time compared to the guys they have been winning matches.  But can he ever be taken seriously in the future?

While I'm sure being in the international spotlight has been great for him, I'm also sure that he would like a chance to showcase his craft as well.  From what I've heard, from his OVW days, he is actually a great technical wrestler. 

Santino has held gold in the WWE, but both wins were for entertainment value only.  His first Intercontinental title win was when he was "picked" to fight Umaga from right out of the crowd. 

He was debuting in Italy so being an Italian alone got him a huge pop from the live crowd.  When he took off his shorts, we saw he was tattooed all over the place so he actually had that tough look at first.  Then he was pounded by Umaga til the point of defeat when Bobby Lashley came out and saved the day. 

His second win was in a mixed tag match where Beth Phoenix did all the heavy lifting, not a play on words either; she actually had Santino on her shoulders after the match.

Sure he holds wins over guys like Chris Masters and Chavo Guerrero, the jobbers of Raw, but his sole purpose has been to interact with the guest hosts lately, and I can't help but wonder what will happen to him when the fans tire of his antics.  Will he be released or repackaged?

Will the WWE try and make him look like a legit talent by having him go on a faux training retreat and come back better than ever? 

Will they have him just start getting better in the ring slowly? Or will they have him pretend it was all an act and he is actually great? 

Whatever they attempt to do if they try and have him look good, hopefully it will be better than his current role.

One thing is for sure, he is not in line for a world title shot anytime soon, and that's one of the main reasons why guys come into this business. 

In his current role, he is just comedic relief whose wrestling ability is being overlooked. If that's OK with him, then he should run with it as long as he can.

However, if he wants to be taken seriously, he needs visit Vince McMahon's office and speak up soon cause his chances seem to be running out.