Santino Marella

Impact Wrestling

Real name: Anthony Carelli
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 227 lbs.
Date of birth: March 14, 1979
Hometown: New York, NY
Pro debut: 2004
Trained by: OVW
Finishing move: The Cobra Strike

Biography

– In early 2006, Carelli joined OVW and was given the ring name ‘Johnny Geo Basco’
– Carelli was involved in the removal of Jim Cornette from OVW. Carelli was supposed to act scared of The Boogeyman, but laughed instead, leading Cornette to slap him. Paul Heyman replaced Cornette soon after
– On April 12, 2006, Carelli debuted the ‘Boris Alexiev’ persona
– On January 24, 2007, Alexiev defeated Mike Kruel to win the OVW Television Title
– On January 31, 2007, Alexiev defeated Bad Company (Mike Kruel & Shawn Osbourne) in a Handicap Match to retain the OVW Television Title
– On March 14, 2007, Alexiev again defeated Mike Kruel to regain the OVW Television Title
– On April 16, 2007, Carelli debuted on Raw as ‘Santino Marella’. Vince McMahon picked a challenger to Umaga’s WWE Intercontinental Title from the crowd. Marella answered the call and won the title, after interference from Bobby Lashley
– On April 21, 2007, Marella defeated Jonathan Coachman to retain the WWE Intercontinental Title
– On May 7, 2007, Marella defeated Chris Masters to retain the WWE Intercontinental Title
– On May 19, 2007, Marella defeated Kenny Dykstra to retain the WWE Intercontinental Title
– On June 6, 2007, Marella defeated Johnny Nitro to retain the WWE Intercontinental Title
– On June 11, 2007, Marella defeated Carlito to retain the WWE Intercontinental Title
– On June 17, 2007, Marella defeated Snitsky to retain the WWE Intercontinental Title
– At Vengeance 2007, Marella defeated Umaga by DQ to retain the WWE Intercontinental Title
– Marella was voted the ’07 GERWECK.NET Newcomer of the Year
– On July 14, 2008, Marella was defeated by Beth Phoenix, instigating the ‘Glamarella’ storyline
– At Summerslam 2008, Marella & Beth Phoenix defeated Kofi Kingston & Mickie James to win the WWE Intercontinental Title for Marella and the WWE Womens Title for Phoenix
– During this reign, Marella began a ‘quest’ to become the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time, by beating The Honky Tonk Man’s record reign. During his promos, he would make reference to the ‘Honk-A-Meter’, showing a comparison between the two
– On September 6, 2008, Glamarella defeated Kofi Kingston & Kelly Kelly to retain the WWE Intercontinental & Womens Titles
– On September 14, 2008, Marella defeated Charlie Haas to retain the WWE Intercontinental Title
– At Cyber Sunday 2008, The Honky Tonk Man defeated Marella by DQ (Marella retains the WWE Intercontinental Title)
– On November 7, 2008, Marella defeated William Regal to retain the WWE Intercontinental Title
– Marella was voted the ’08 GERWECK.NET Best on the Mic
– At Royal Rumble 2009, Marella set the record for the shortest time in a Rumble Match, lasting just 1.9 seconds
– At WrestleMania 25, Marella (as ‘his twin sister, Santina’) won the Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal
– On April 6, 2009, Santina defeated Beth Phoenix
– At Backlash 2009, Santina defeated Beth Phoenix to retain the title of ‘Miss WrestleMania’
– At Extreme Rules 2009, Santina defeated Vickie & Chavo Guerrero in a Hadicap Hogpen Match to regain the title of ‘Miss WrestleMania’
– On June 22, 2009, Santina was fired by Raw owner Donald Trump
– On December 6, 2010, Marella & Vladimir Kozlov defeated Mark Henry & Yoshi Tatsu, The Nexus (Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel) & The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) in a 4-Way Elimination Match to win the WWE Tag Team Titles
– At TLC 2010, Marella & Kozlov defeated The Nexus (Slater & Gabriel) by DQ to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles
– On January 9, 2011, Marella & Kozlov defeated The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles
– On January 16, 2011, Marella & Kozlov defeated The New Nexus (David Otunga & Husky Harris) to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles
– On February 15, 2011, Marella & Kozlov defeated The Corre (Slater & Gabriel) by DQ to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles
– On January 6, 2012, Marella began appearing as the assistant to Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long
– On March 5, 2012, Marella defeated Jack Swagger to win the WWE United States Title
– On March 6, 2012, Marella defeated Swagger in a Cage Match to retain the WWE United States Title
– At No Way Out ’12, Marella defeated Richardo Rodriguez in a “Tuxedo” match
– In September 2013, Marella opened the Battle Arts Academy in Ontario. The facility offers strength and conditioning training, as well as training for MMA and pro wrestling
– Marella announced his retirement from in-ring competition during a non-televised live event in his hometown of Toronto, Canada on July 6, 2014.
– Carelli was released by WWE on May 6, 2016
– In November 2016, Carelli joined the Sportsnet 360 Aftermath panel
– Marella wrestled what was advertised as his last match in August 2017, teaming with Chavo Guerrero to defeat John Atlas & RJ City
– In November 2017, Carelli began appearing as a non-wrestler in Impact Wrestling
– In May 2018, Carelli began hosting ‘Behind The Lights’ on Impact’s Twitch channel
– In July 2018, Carelli returned to the ring, teaming with Dylan Davis to defeat Justin Newhook & Connors. He has continued to wrestle a part-time schedule since then
– At Bloodsport 2, Carelli (under his real name) defeated Simon Grimm
– Carelli revived his Santina Marella character in the 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble Match
– In January 2023, Santino Marella returned to Impact Wrestling, working as the on-screen authority figure
– At Rebellion 2023, Carelli (as Santino Marella), Dirty Dango & Joe Hendry defeated The Design (Deaner, Callihan, Angels & Kon) in a Handicap Match