Mary Alfonsi (May 23, 1942 – August 25, 2011), better known by her ring name Donna Christanello (also billed as Donna Christianello, Donna Christenello, Donna Christiantello, and Donna Christantello, the names which she went by on her official website), was a

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

trained by The Fabulous Moolah. She was active from the late 1960s through the 1980s. She frequently wrestled women such as

Ann Casey Lucille Ann Casey (September 29, 1938 – March 1, 2021) was an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Ann Casey, or Panther Girl. Early life Casey was born in Saraland, Alabama, one of nine children to John and Viola Cas ...

Vicki Williams Vicki Williams (born April 21, 1956) is a retired female professional wrestler. She held the NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship three times with Joyce Grable. Professional wrestling career During a match in June 1971, midget wrestler Dar ...

, Evelyn Stevens and Leilani Kai throughout the 1970s.

Professional wrestling career

National Wrestling Alliance

Christanello was employed at a restaurant in Pittsburgh when she decided to contact a wrestling promoter to become a professional wrestler. Male wrestlers Waldo Von Erich and Klondike Bill helped set her up with women's wrestling trainer The Fabulous Moolah. She moved to South Carolina in 1963 to train with Moolah. In 1969, Christanello competed during an Australian tour with Toni Rose, Jessica Rodgers, Betty and Rita Boucher, Ramona Isbell, Marva Scott and Evelyn Stevens. She was the frequent

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

partner of Toni Rose. She and Rose won the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship is a women's professional wrestling tag team championship defended in member promotions of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). History From the early 1950s through 1983, it was the first women's w ...

in 1970. In 1972, she competed at the

Superbowl of Wrestling The Superbowl of Wrestling was an event held in the 1970s. It was one of the first professional wrestling "Supercards". History 1972 The first Superbowl of Wrestling was held in Cleveland, Ohio at Municipal Stadium on August 12, 1972. Three ri ...

, where she and Rose defended the time World Women's Tag Team Championship against

Sandy Parker Sandy Parker (born March 2, 1952) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. She debuted in 1969, wrestling in Canada, the United States, and Japan. In Japan, she worked for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, holding numerous titles. She also had ...

and Debbie Johnson. They eventually lost the title in October 1973 to

Joyce Grable Betty Wade-Murphy (born November 9, 1952), better known by her ring name Joyce Grable, is an American former professional wrestler. She was the long-term tag team partner of Wendi Richter. She held the NWA United States Women's Championship once ...

and

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

in New York. There is also an unrecorded title change. Susan Green and Sandy Parker won the World Tag Team title from Christanello and Rose in November 1971 in Hawaii and lost them in February 1972 to Christanello and Rose in Hong Kong. They also defended the title in the NWA and

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

, and the title was eventually integrated into the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(WWF). As a result, they were recognized as the first WWF Women's Tag Team Champions.

World Wrestling Federation

During the mid-1980s she competed in the WWF's women's division. Christianello continued to wrestle in tag team matches. On May 5, 1984, Susan Starr and Christianello defeated

Wendi Richter Victoria "Wendi" Richter (born September 8, 1961) is an American retired professional wrestler. She began her professional wrestling career in companies such as the National Wrestling Alliance, where she teamed with Joyce Grable, with whom she ...

and

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

. On June 5, 1984, Peggy Lee and Christianello defeated The Fabulous Moolah and Desiree Petersen. The next day Moolah and Petersen defeated the team of Christianello and Judy Martin. On June 9, Moolah and Petersen defeated Martin and Christianello. The following day, Moolah and Petersen once again defeated Christianello and Judy Martin. In August 1984, Christianello wrestled primarily singles matches. On August 19, Susan Green defeated Christianello. In matches on both August 20 and 21, Susan Starr defeated Christianello. In 1987, she wrestled as part of Sensational Sherri's team at the Survivor Series pay-per-view.

Personal life and death

Christanello was born and raised in Pittsburgh and was of Italian descent. She lived with The Fabulous Moolah on-and-off for forty years, ending in May 1999 when she moved back to Pittsburgh.Ellison, Lillian. ''First Goddess of the Squared Circle'', p.143. While living with Moolah, she helped train women wrestlers Sherri Martel and Brittany Brown. After retiring from the ring, she was employed by Wal-Mart in the accounting department. Her niece, Marie Minor, was trained by Christanello and worked as a wrestler under the ring name Angie Minelli for several years in the 1980s. On August 25, 2011, she died from a

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce ...

(COPD). She was 69 years old.

Championships and accomplishments

* Cauliflower Alley Club ** Other honoree (

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

) * Keystone State Wrestling Alliance ** Hall of Fame (2010) *

(4 times) - with Kathy O'Day (1) and Toni Rose (3) *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...

** Lady Wrestler (2009) *Women’s Wrestling Hall of Fame **Class of 2023https://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=165040

Footnotes

References

External links

The Official Website of Donna Christantello

at Online World of Wrestling {{DEFAULTSORT:Christanello, Donna 1942 births 2011 deaths American female professional wrestlers American professional wrestlers of Italian descent Professional wrestlers from Pennsylvania Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestling trainers 21st-century American women 20th-century professional wrestlers