Anthony Carelli (born March 14, 1974), better known by the ring name Santino Marella, is a Canadian professional wrestler, judoka, and comedian.

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.

In July, during a storyline where he was supposed to act afraid of The Boogeyman, but instead laughed, Anthony Carelli was shouted at and slapped by Jim Cornette, OVW's head booker and co-owner.

[4][16] Under OVW's new booker, Paul Heyman, Anthony Carelli adopted the gimmick of Boris Alexiev, a Russian shootfighter/mixed martial artist.

On January 24, 2007, Alexiev won the OVW Television Championship from Mike Kruel, who was defending in place of champion Eddie Kraven.

The next day, WWE.com posted a profile on Marella, saying he was an Italian national who moved to Canada as a child and returned to his native country a few times each year to visit family.

Over several weeks, they appeared together in a series of segments on Raw, including two "game show" skits, hosted by General Manager William Regal, which resulted in retired wrestler Ron Simmons winning a date with Maria, to Santino's dismay.

[31] During the Austin angle, Marella repeatedly mocked him and his catchphrases in humorously broken English,[30] starting a new comedic trend in his gimmick.

After unsuccessfully persuading her to decline it, Marella tried to sabotage the cover unveiling (an in-ring segment of Raw), causing Maria to dump him.

At Cyber Sunday, Marella was disqualified in a title match with The Honky Tonk Man (who fans voted for over other former champions Roddy Piper and Goldust).

[52] On the October 25 Raw, after Sheamus had called him an "embarrassment" for being the first man eliminated at Bragging Rights, Marella scored an upset victory over the former two-time WWE Champion.

Marella and Kozlov retained the Tag Team title at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, when Gabriel and Slater were disqualified after interference from Nexus member Michael McGillicutty.

[58] At WrestleMania XXVII, Marella teamed with Big Show, Kane, and Kofi Kingston (replacing the injured Kozlov) to defeat The Corre (Slater, Gabriel, Ezekiel Jackson and Wade Barrett) in an eight-man tag match.

On September 1, Carelli injured his left shoulder in a car accident before a house show in Puerto Rico, rendering him inactive for several weeks.

[72] The following night on Raw, Marella successfully defended the title against Swagger and Dolph Ziggler in a Triple Threat Match,[73] and against David Otunga on the April 16 episode.

[75] The following night on Raw, Marella unsuccessfully tried to earn a WWE Championship match at Over the Limit in a Beat the Clock Challenge against The Miz.

[76] Later that month, Marella briefly reunited with Zack Ryder, facing teams including Primo and Epico, Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks and Titus O'Neil and Darren Young.

[90] On the September 21 episode of SmackDown, Marella defeated Cesaro in a non-title match to earn another shot at the United States Championship.

[92] On the debut episode of WWE Main Event on October 3, Marella and Zack Ryder entered a Tag Team Championship tournament, and defeated Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd in the quarterfinals.

[95] On the December 26 episode of Main Event, Santino Marella participated in a 20-man battle royal for the number one contender of Cesaro's United States title and split from his partner Zack Ryder, when eliminated him.

On the February 3, 2014 episode of Raw, Marella returned to television and invited Emma into the ring from the crowd to have a "dance-off" with Summer Rae, starting a feud with her and Fandango.

On the May 5 episode of Raw, Marella participated in a 20-man battle royal for Dean Ambrose's United States Championship, but he was eliminated by RybAxel (Ryback and Curtis Axel).

[105] Marella made several appearances throughout 2014 and 2015, including one appearance on the November 24 episode of Raw to promote his new movie, Jingle All the Way 2 with co-star Larry the Cable Guy, serving as the Guest General Manager for the December 5 episode of SmackDown and hosted his own Royal Rumble lottery on the 20 January, exclusively on the WWE Network.

On June 17, 2017, Marella announced that he would come out of retirement for one last match for Destiny World Wrestling, which operates out of his Battle Arts Academy facilities, on August 27.

[111] On July 23, 2018, he appeared at an Impact Wrestling TV taping, in the corner of Dustin Quicksilver (representing his Battle Arts Academy).

[119][120] At Victory Road, Marella appeared on-screen with his daughter, NXT and TNA liaison Arianna Grace,[121] for the first time in their career.

He, along with kung fu practitioner Steven J. Wong and fitness magazine publisher Terry Frendo, opened a 15,000 square foot multi-use facility and gym in Mississauga, Ontario called ‘Battle Arts Academy‘ in September 2013.

It is for general strength and conditioning, as well as for training in mixed martial arts and professional wrestling taught by the original Battlarts founder, Yuki Ishikawa.

[125] In 2014, Carelli and his partner Dan Garneau founded and sponsored Canadian junior ice hockey team, Milton Battle Arts Cobras.

[134] His daughter Bianca previously wrestled for the NWA and is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Arianna Grace.