Santino Marella, a former WWE United States, Intercontinental, and Tag Team Champion, is the new Director of Authority in Impact Wrestling.
The former WWE star was announced as the temporary replacement for the injured Scott D’Amore at the Hard To Kill 2023 pay-per-view on Friday night.
His first piece of business was to restart the Digital Media Championship match between Joe Hendry and Moose after the title was awarded to Moose when he used a low blow and spear to Hendry.
The Announcement
In the early days of TNA Wrestling, Dusty Rhodes was once the director of authority. Now, Santino proudly carries the mantle.
Impact Wrestling, via its parent company of Anthem Sports, recently filed to trademark the name. Anthony Carelli had previously appeared in Impact Wrestling out of character, but now, he is playing the same persona he portrayed for over a decade in WWE.Â
He was hired by WWE in 2005 and given an opportunity at Ohio Valley Wrestling, one of the company’s development brands. During a Raw episode from Milan, Italy, he made his debut. He won the Intercontinental Championship in his first match after being chosen as a fan from the audience and defeating Umaga. In the years that followed, he also took part in either a storyline as Santina Marella, Santino’s twin sister. He left WWE in 2015 after announcing his retirement in 2014. He founded Battle Arts Academy.
Impact Wrestling will hold a set of TV tapings on Saturday night that will feature the fallout from this show.
