Carmella (Leah Van Dale), a former SmackDown Women’s Champion, addressed the possibility of wrestling outside WWE.
Carmella had been with WWE since 2013. However, she remained absent from television since 2023 after becoming pregnant and giving birth to her son that November. She later revealed that she struggled with health issues after her pregnancy.
In February 2024, Fightful and Masked J of PW Nexus reported that WWE did not renew Carmella’s contract, ending her 12-year tenure with the company. After leaving, she shared that she tried to return but never heard back from WWE. She called her release a “sh*tty” way for things to end.
Despite her frustrations, Carmella acknowledged the possibility of wrestling elsewhere. In an interview with the New York Post, she said she still feels loyal to WWE, but wouldn’t rule out the possibility working somewhere else.
“So, I’m not like a ‘never say never’ person. To me, I do feel such loyalty to WWE. I love my time working there. If I ever went back, I would hope it would be for WWE. I would want to go back as Carmella, moonwalk my way out there, and be in a WWE ring. I do feel like that would be my home. But I’m not gonna say never, right? Like, who knows what the future holds? I don’t want to become a hypocrite.”
One prominent voice in WWE is still in her corner, as Booker T said that Carmella is talented enough to keep wrestling wherever she lands. Meanwhile, Carmella’s husband, Corey Graves, currently works for WWE as a commentator on NXT.
Related: Carmella Details Pitch To Work With Pretty Deadly Prior To WWE Departure
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