If you watched No Way Out, you may have noticed a Santino Marella sign that looked very similar to the Barack Obama “Hope” poster. Vince McMahond did, too.
According to PWT’s James Caldwell one of their readers, Travis Beaven, took the sign to the show. After the show appeared on camera during the Orton/McMahon and ECW Title matches, he was approached by WWE Security during the bout between Shawn Michaels and JBL:
The staff member said to Travis, “Vince and everyone really loved the Santino sign, but that Vince was upset it was getting so much airtime.” Travis was asked to stop showing it for the main event Raw Elimination Chamber match, but the staff member reiterated that everyone backstage thought it was hilarious.
Beaven even showed up in the comments section Caldwell’s post, and gave credit to Jeremy Cottle for designing the sign.
Trivia: There’s a wrestling connection for the original Obama poster. It was created by Shepherd Fairey, who also created the Andre the Giant “OBEY” street art. So, Santino is now connected to an all time WWE legend and the President by an image.
