Anthony Carelli debuted as Santino Marella (an homage to WWE Hall of Famer Robert "Gorilla Monsoon" Marella) on the April 16, 2007 episode of "Raw" from Milan, Italy. He was presented as a fan that Vince McMahon selected as an opponent for Umaga. The unknown Marella scored a surprising upset, and won the WWE Intercontinental Championship with an assist from Bobby Lashley. The next day, WWE.com posted a profile on Marella, saying he was an Italian national who moved to Canada as a child and returned to his native country a few times each year to visit family. The profile claimed that he moved to the U.S. to pursue a wrestling career with WWE.