WWE Superstar Santino Marella announced his retirement from in-ring competition during last night’s non-televised live event in his hometown of Toronto, Canada.

He attributed his retirement due to recurring neck injuries that he has accumulated over the past several years in professional wrestling and is hanging up his boots to avoid any permanent damages.

Marella made his WWE debut in April 2007 during a RAW broadcast from Milan, Italy, where he was the unknown opponent of the-then Intercontinental champion Umaga. Marella, who was billed from Italy, won the IC title that night thanks to the assistance of Bobby Lashley.

Eventually his character turned into a comedic one and managed to get some serious laughs from the WWE audience thanks to his over-the-top antics. During his time in the WWE, he won the Intercontinental twice, Tag Team titles once with Vladimir Kozlov, the U.S. title, and also the Miss WrestleMania crown!

Marella now runs a pro wrestling and mixed martial arts school in Toronto called Battle Arts Academy.

You can see the video of Marella announcing his retirement below.