Mary Alfonsi (May 23, 1942 – August 25, 2011), better known by her ring name Donna Christanello, was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

active between 1963 and 1991. Trained by

The Fabulous Moolah Mary Lillian Ellison (July 22, 1923 – November 2, 2007) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer better known by her ring name The Fabulous Moolah. She began her career working with promoter Billy ...

, she frequently wrestled

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 C ...

, Vicki Williams, Evelyn Stevens and

Leilani Kai Patty Seymour (born January 23, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Leilani Kai. She is best known for her work in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, All Japan Women's Pro Wrestl ...

throughout the 1970s.

Professional wrestling career

National Wrestling Alliance (1963-1984)

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 Walter Paul Sieber (October 2, 1933 – July 5, 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for performing under the ring name Waldo Von Erich, playing the character of a villainous Prussian Nazi. He was billed as the brother of ...

and

Klondike Bill William Soloweyko (December 1, 1931 – October 3, 2000), better known by his ring name Klondike Bill, was a Canadian professional wrestler. He wrestled in various National Wrestling Alliance territories throughout the 1960s and 1970s, before movin ...

helped set her up with women's wrestling trainer

. 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 establis ...

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 governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

's NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship in 1970. In 1972, she competed at the Superbowl of Wrestling, where she and Rose defended the time World Women's Tag Team Championship against Sandy Parker and Debbie Johnson. They eventually lost the title in October 1973 to

Joyce Grable Betty Wade-Murphy (November 9, 1952 – September 29, 2023), better known by her ring name Joyce Grable, was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. She was the long-term tag team partner of Wendi Richter. She held the NWA Uni ...

and Vicki Williams at

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 Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

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 founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

, and the title was eventually integrated into the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

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

World Wrestling Federation (1965-1977, 1981-1987)

She made her debut in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1965. She worked there for many years until 1977. Christianello returned to the WWWF now WWF in 1981. 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, 1960) is an American former 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, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

. On June 5, 1984, Peggy Lee and Christianello defeated

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. During the mid-1980s she competed in the WWF's women's division. In 1987, she wrestled as part of Sensational Sherri's team at the

Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...

pay-per-view. She retired from wrestling circa 1991.

Personal life and death

Christanello was born and raised in Pittsburgh and was of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

descent. She lived with

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 Sherry Lynn Schrull (née Russell; February 8, 1958 – June 15, 2007) was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by her ring names, Sherri Martel and Sensational Sherri. Martel began her professional wrestling career in t ...

and Brittany Brown. After retiring from the ring, she was employed by

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

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 chronic respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. GOLD defines COPD as a heterogeneous lung condition characterized by chronic respiratory s ...

(COPD). She was 69 years old.

Championships and accomplishments

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Ab ...

** Other honoree (

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

) *

Keystone State Wrestling Alliance The Keystone State Wrestling Alliance (KSWA) is a professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion that was founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2000 by Lou Zygmuncik and Shawn Blanchard. KSWA's longtime ring announcer Bobby O ...

** Hall of Fame (2010) *

** NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship (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 was an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas; following the postponement of its 19th induction ceremony, planned for May 2020, and an annou ...

** Lady Wrestler (2009) *

Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame The Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame (WWHOF) is a hall of fame which honors women who have performed in both women's professional wrestling and women's amateur wrestling as well as other forms of grappling. History The Hall of Fame was founded ...

** Class of 2023

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 Female professional wrestling trainers 21st-century American women 20th-century female professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers NWA World Women's Tag Team Champions Professional wrestlers from Pittsburgh 20th-century American sportswomen