Bianca Sophia Carelli (born June 29, 1997) is a Canadian professional wrestler and beauty pageant competitor. She is signed to WWE, where she performs under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Arianna Grace on the NXT brand. She also appears in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where she is the liaison between NXT and TNA. Carelli is the daughter of Anthony Carelli, better known as Santino Marella, making her a second-generation professional wrestler.

Early life

Bianca Carelli was born in

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

, Ontario, Canada to Petrina and professional wrestler Anthony Carelli, who is best known for his time in WWE as Santino Marella, and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). At a young age, Carelli took part in live theater performances, improvisation competitions, competitive dance and beauty pageants. She won the Miss Teen Ontario-World pageant in 2013 at age 17 and she graduated from Western University in London, Ontario, Canada with a Bachelor's degree in biology. Carelli also has extensive training in MMA fighting with a focus on Judo, Jiu Jitsu and Boxing.

Professional wrestling career

National Wrestling Alliance (2018–2022)

Carelli began training in 2018 under independent wrestler Tyson Dux in Canada and she made her debut on June 9, 2018. At NWA EmPowerrr in 2021, Carelli competed in the NWA Women's Invitational Cup Gauntlet, which was won by Chelsea Green. She went on to compete on several independent shows in Florida before being signed by WWE in March 2022.

WWE (2022–present)

On March 17, 2022, it was announced that Carelli had signed with WWE where she would report to the NXT brand. On the April 29 episode of ''

NXT Level Up ''WWE NXT Level Up'', also known as ''NXT Level Up'' (stylized as '' NXT LVL UP''), is an American professional wrestling streaming television program. It is produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, featuring performers from ...

'', she made her debut under the ring name Arianna Grace where she defeated Amari Miller. She was soon announced as a participant in the

NXT Women's Breakout Tournament The NXT Breakout Tournament is a professional wrestling single elimination tournament produced by WWE for the NXT brand. First introduced in 2019, the tournament features eight wrestlers, who are new arrivals on NXT (usually WWE Performance C ...

where she was defeated by Nikkita Lyons in the first round on the May 10 episode of '' NXT''. On the August 10 episode of ''NXT'', Grace earned her first televised win by defeating

Thea Hail Madison Knisely (born September 9, 2003) is an American professional wrestler and gymnast. She is currently signed to WWE where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Thea Hail and is a member of Chase University. Early life Mad ...

. In October, Grace suffered a torn ACL injury which sidelined her for a year. Grace made her in-ring return on the September 29, 2023, episode of ''NXT Level Up'' losing to Fallon Henley. Now portraying a beauty pageant gimmick calling herself "Miss NXT", Grace made her televised return in the NXT Women's Breakout Tournament in October where she defeated

Brinley Reece Breanna Ruggiero (born September 5, 2000) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Brinley Reece. Early life Ruggiero was born in Roseville, California on ...

in the first round but lost to

Kelani Jordan Lea Mitchell (born October 22, 1998) is an American professional wrestler and former artistic gymnast. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Kelani Jordan and is the current and inaugural NXT Wome ...

in the semi-finals. On the January 16, 2024, episode of ''NXT'', Grace participated in an NXT Women's Championship #1 Contender's Battle Royal which was won by

Roxanne Perez Carla Gonzalez (born November 5, 2001) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Roxanne Perez, where she is the current NXT Women's Champion in her first reign. She is a form ...

. On the March 12 episode of ''NXT'', Grace defeated Gigi Dolin by disqualification with the stipulation that if Dolin lost, Grace had to give her a makeover. However, this storyline was dropped after Dolin suffered a knee injury. On the June 25 episode of ''NXT'', Grace fought

Sol Ruca Calyx Harmony Hampton (born August 26, 1999) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Sol Ruca. Early life Calyx Harmony Hampton was born in Ontario, California, on Aug ...

for an opportunity at the

NXT Women's North American Championship The NXT Women's North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. Unveiled on April 6, 2024, it is the secondary women's championship of NXT, the developmental brand, and sub ...

at NXT Heatwave against Kelani Jordan but was defeated. The following week on ''NXT'', after Karmen Petrovic challenged Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx to a tag team match at NXT Heatwave, NXT General Manager Ava assigned Grace as Petrovic's partner much to Petrovic's dismay. At the NXT Heatwave pre-show, Grace and Petrovic defeated Jayne and Nyx. After the match, Grace and Petrovic had a disagreement on who contributed to the match victory, to which Ava booked a match between them on that week's NXT, where Grace was defeated.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2024)

On the September 5, 2024, episode of ''Impact!'', Carelli, as Arianna Grace, made her Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) debut and announced that she will be the new liaison between NXT and TNA. At Victory Road, Grace appeared on-screen with her father, TNA's Director of Authority Santino Marella, for the first time in their career.

Personal life

Carelli is of Italian, Pakistani,

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

and Finnish descent. Carelli is in a relationship with American professional wrestler Mitchell Lavalley, better known by the ring name

Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo Mitchell Lavalley (born March 3, 1997) is an American professional wrestler now signed to WWE where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo and is a member of The D'Angelo Family stable as the underboss of the te ...

. In 2023, she competed in the Miss Universe Canada beauty pageant where she finished in the top 20.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grace, Arianna 1997 births Living people Canadian female professional wrestlers 21st-century female professional wrestlers Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Canadian people of Italian descent Canadian sportspeople of Pakistani descent Canadian people of Pakistani descent Canadian people of Finnish descent Canadian people of Métis descent Canadian beauty pageant contestants