Anthony Carelli is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with WWE as Santino Marella. He is a former United States, Intercontinental, and WWE Tag Team Champion.
Before joining WWE, Carelli worked on the independent circuit and also had a few MMA marches. In 2005, Carelli began working for OVW and signed a contract with WWE. They repackaged him as Santino Marella. During his OVW run, he was called Boris Alexiev and won the OVW Television Championship.
In 2007, Marella made his debut on RAW where he defeated Umaga to win the Intercontinental Championship. In July, he lost the title back to Umaga. Over the several weeks, he was involved in a storyline with Maria where he was a jealous and overprotective boyfriend. The storyline ended at WrestleMania XXIV when he was dumped by Maria.
In 2008, he faced Beth Phoenix and lost. Over the coming weeks, Marella and Phoenix began a storyline and formed a tag team. At SummerSlam, Marella and Phoenix defeated Kofi Kingston and Mickie James to win the Intercontinental and Women's Championship, respectively. Marella started "Honk-A-Meter" to become the greatest Intercontinental; Champion but failed.
The partnership ended when Marella entered the Women's Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXV and eliminated Phoenix. In 2009, he became one of the fastest elimination at the Royal Rumble by Kane. He began feuding with Vickie and Chavo Guerrero. He faced them in various stipulation matches. He also faced Vickie as his alternative twin, Santina.
In 2010, Marella was involved in a storyline with Vladimir Kozlov. The two formed a tag team and began working in the tag team division. At Night of Champions, they faced Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre for the WWE Tag Team Championship and lost.
In December, Marella and Kozlov defeated the members of The Nexus to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. At Royal Rumble, Marella was the final two participants but lost to Alberto Del Rio. Marella gained popularity due to his comedic segments and timings. At Elimination Chamber, they lost the titles to The Corre. At WrestleMania XXVII, Big Show, Kane, Kofi Kingston, and Marella defeated The Corre.
Marella spent most of 2011 in various tag team matches. In 2012, Marella replaced Randy Orton at Elimination Chamber and lost. In March, he won the United States Championship from Jack Swagger. In August, he lost the title to Antonio Cesaro during the pre-show at SummerSlam. Marella spent his final years appearing in the tag team division and working with Emma. Due to several injuries, Marella asked for his released. In 2016, Marella was released from the company.
After being released, Marella became a semi-retired wrestler. He worked for a handful of promotions and trained his daughter to become a wrestler. He made an appearance as Santina in the Women's Royal Rumble match in 2020. He made several appearances for WWE, even after his retirement.
