The Mystery Man from Milan
It was easily noted on Raw (because it’s been the talk of the internet) that Vince McMahon pulled a “nobody” out of the audience to wrestle Umaga, with the Intercontinental title on the line. He was announced as Santino Marella but his real name is actually Anthony Carelli.
Anthony Carelli has studied and compted in Judo for most of his life. He was in a variety of MMA (Mixed-Martial Arts) tournaments in Japan until 2004, it was then that he signed a developmental deal with the WWE and was immediately signed to OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling). He debuted there as an audience plant in July 2005. Paul Heyman renamed him Boris Alexiev in 2006 and he was to become known as the “Russian shoot fighter”.
In January of 2007, Carelli won the OVW title in a televised match. He lost the belt on March 17. Less than a month later he suddenly appeared in Italy posing as a member of the Raw fan nation, when Vince plucked him out of the crowd.
Carelli is no more Italian or Russian than I am. He was born in New York, NY, and currently lives in Louisville, KY.
While I do not believe he is a viable contender to take the championship from Cena, I do think that he will be grouped in with the likes of Rey Mysterio and Chris Benoit. His martial arts background will come in handy against these cruiserweights.
WWE, Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit, Santino Marella, Anthony Carelli
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