Anthony Carelli

Anthony Carelli was born on March 14, 1974, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. His career in professional wrestling began with training at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), a developmental territory for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Carelli debuted as Santino Marella on April 16, 2007, on an episode of Raw in Milan, Italy. He quickly gained recognition for his humorous persona and achieved significant success, including winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship in his debut match. His early career was marked by a rapid rise in visibility within WWE, where he developed a distinct comedic character that resonated with audiences.

Throughout his 11-year tenure with WWE, Carelli secured various championships. Beyond his initial Intercontinental title, he claimed it a second time, held the WWE United States Championship once, and was a WWE Tag Team Champion. A notable storyline involved him portraying Santina Marella, Santino’s twin sister, which led to him being crowned “Miss WrestleMania” at WrestleMania XXV. Carelli was also a director, co-directing “Battle Arts Rising Stars” in 2015. His career extended beyond wrestling with acting roles in productions such as “WWE: OMG! – The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History” (2011), “WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2011” (2010), and “Jingle All the Way 2” (2014).

Following his release from WWE in 2016, Carelli opened the Battle Arts Academy, a martial arts and professional wrestling training facility in Mississauga. He also served as the official ambassador of Judo Canada. Carelli made sporadic appearances on the independent circuit and returned to Impact Wrestling, now TNA, in 2023 under his Santino Marella persona as the on-screen Director of Authority. In 2025, a partnership between WWE and TNA led to his return to WWE’s NXT brand, where he continued to engage in active roles, including challenging for the NXT North American Championship.