Anthony Carelli (born March 14, 1979) is an Italian-Canadian professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and judoka, better known by his ring name Santino Marella. He is currently signed to WWE, competing on its Raw Brand, where he is a two-time Intercontinental Champion and former Tag Team Champion with Vladimir Kozlov, and is currently the reigning United States Champion.
In the United States, Carelli took wrestling classes at and worked for th...
More
Anthony Carelli (born March 14, 1979) is an Italian-Canadian professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and judoka, better known by his ring name Santino Marella. He is currently signed to WWE, competing on its Raw Brand, where he is a two-time Intercontinental Champion and former Tag Team Champion with Vladimir Kozlov, and is currently the reigning United States Champion.
In the United States, Carelli took wrestling classes at and worked for the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) a developmental territory for the national World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Upon joining OVW, Carelli was given the ring name Johnny Geo Basco. While there, he was involved in an infamous incident with Jim Cornette, the company's head booker and part-owner. After a storyline where he was supposed to act afraid of the Boogeyman but instead laughed, Cornette yelled at and slapped Carelli, leading to Cornette being removed from his position as booker of OVW by WWE.
Paul Heyman was appointed OVW booker to replace...
Less
