Former WWE star Santino Marella is one of the rare professional wrestlers who have had the opportunity to work with their children. His daughter, Arianna Grace, has been in the WWE developmental system for the last three years, and was able to work with her father in TNA since last year. Speaking on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," the father proudly spoke about Grace's journey to becoming a wrestler.
Marella remembers noticing early on that Grace had a charisma that was ahead of her age, and she eventually went on to excel in boxing and beauty pageants, among other pursuits. Once she finished college, her father had a conversation with Grace about her pursuing wrestling, though she initially had doubts. He assured her that, as long as she put all of her focus and effort towards it, he was positive that she could succeed in wrestling.
"All she had to do, in my opinion, was be the hardest worker in the room, and she became the hardest worker in the room," Marella said. "Her first [WWE] tryout she was not ready and she didn't get hired. And then the switch went off. She packed up, moved to Orlando. She was training at multiple schools, busting her ass, got in great shape. And then when she received another tryout, she just blew them away."
Marella acknowledged that Grace had some doors opened because of who he is, but the TNA star maintained that she had to work incredibly hard to prove that she's capable of making it in the business. Additionally, he doesn't believe Grace is the type to want to coast on her father's reputation, and he thinks she'll do everything she can to prove she's even better than he is.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
