Wrestler of the Week: Carmella
RondaRousey.com’s Wrestler of the Week series profiles significant wrestlers from the past and present.
From Laker Girl to WWE Superstar, Carmella has proven that there’s no one path to WWE stardom. Amazingly, it’s “only” taken Carmella five years: She signed a developmental deal with the WWE in June of 2013, eventually becoming a mainstay on the SmackDown LIVE brand. The path has had its ups-and-downs, but she’s proven that nothing can hold down “The Staten Island Princess.” Why? Because ‘Mella is money!
Carmella arrived at the WWE Performance Center in September 2013 and would go on to join the tag team duo of Enzo Amore and Big Cass in the fall of 2014. As their manager, Carmella’s personality really began to shine, becoming a major part of the group’s chemistry and popularity in NXT. They rode that momentum for a couple of years in NXT, but once Enzo and Cass were called up to the main roster in April 2016, Carmella remained in NXT as a singles competitor for a couple more months.
On July 19, 2016, Carmella was drafted by the SmackDown LIVE brand, joining an immensely-talented women’s roster. Many worried that Carmella wouldn’t find her footing amongst many of the established talents on the main roster—especially as the last pick of the entire draft—but she quickly worked herself onto television programming each week.
Carmella made her WrestleMania debut in at WrestleMania 33, accompanied by her new manager/punching back James “Jimmy” Ellsworth. With Ellsworth’s help, Carmella would reach new levels within the WWE women’s division.
Back to WrestleMania 33, Carmella competed in a six-pack challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Championship but was unsuccessful. It’d be her first flirtation with WWE gold and it would also set her focus on capturing her brand’s top prize.
Roughly three months later, Carmella won the inaugural women’s Money in the Bank ladder match, with the help of Ellsworth. She was stripped of the MitB briefcase two days later on
She held the briefcase for 287 days and cashed in two days after WrestleMania 34, defeating Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Carmella’s title run lasted until SummerSlam where she defended her belt in a triple threat match against Charlotte and Becky Lynch. Charlotte pinned Lynch to win the title and bring an end to Carmella’s reign. But since then, Carmella has continued to find purpose in WWE, this time as one half of “Fabulous Truth,” alongside R-Truth. And the rest has been a matter of dance break history…
You can watch all Money in the Bank 2017 (as well as more of Carmella’s matches) on the WWE Network.