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Santino Marella
| Santino Marella | |
|---|---|
 Marella in 2016 | |
| Birth name | Anthony Carelli |
| Born | March 14, 1974[1] Mississauga, Ontario, Canada[2] |
| Alma mater | Concordia University |
| Spouse(s) |
Anna Babij (m. 2015) |
| Children | 3, including Arianna Grace |
| Website | www.battleartsacademy.ca |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Anthony Carelli Boris Alexiev[3] Johnny Geo Basco[4] Santina Marella[3] Santino Marella[3] Judge Sam Teamo[5] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[6] |
| Billed weight | 233 lb (106 kg)[7] |
| Billed from | San Fili, Calabria, Italy |
| Trained by | Ohio Valley Wrestling[3] |
| Debut | August 17, 2002 |
Anthony Carelli (born March 14, 1974), better known by the ring name Santino Marella, is a Canadian professional wrestler and judoka. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he works as the on-screen director of authority. He is best known for his 11-year tenure with WWE. He is the founder of and instructor at Battle Arts Academy, a martial arts and professional wrestling training facility in Mississauga, Ontario, and the official ambassador of Judo Canada.[8]
Carelli was signed by World Wrestling Entertainment in 2005, being assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE's farm territory. He made his debut on Raw during a live episode from Milan, Italy. Under the character of Santino Marella, a fan selected from the audience, he defeated the Intercontinental Champion Umaga, winning the title in his debut match. During the following years, he would win the Intercontinental title one more time, the United States Championship once and the WWE Tag Team Championship once. He was also involved in a storyline where he worked as Santina Marella, Santino's twin sister. Carelli retired from in-ring competition in 2014 and was released from WWE the following year. After his WWE departure, he opened Battle Arts Academy and worked for Impact Wrestling under his real name. In 2017, he made sporadic matches on the independent circuit, as well as occasional appearances in WWE. In 2023, Carelli made his return to Impact, now under the TNA banner and performing under the Santino Marella name and gimmick.
Carelli is known for his humorous gimmick as Santino Marella, an Italian stereotype, often being involved in comedic segments, having several on-screen relationships with fellow wrestlers, as well as being crowned "Miss WrestleMania" at WrestleMania XXV disguised as "Santina Marella." The Santino Marella character was awarded Best Gimmick in 2007 and 2008 by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
- ^ Saalbach, Axel. "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database". wrestlingdata.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-05. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
- ^ Andrews, Kenai (February 3, 2008). "La Vita è Bella for Santino". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
- ^ a b c d "Santino Marella's OWOW profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 25, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Cornettewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Santino Marella to officiate May Valentine & Aron Stevens' wedding on NWA Powerrr live". 31 January 2023.
- ^ https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=3689&gimmick=Santino+Marella Archived 2024-05-21 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
WWEPwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Anthony Carelli Is Judo Canada's First Official Ambassador". Archived from the original on 2022-05-22. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
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