A candid interview with Carmella.
After a decade as a part of WWE, Leah Van Dale a.k.a. Carmella is no longer with the company. She was informed that her contract was not being renewed. Carmella last wrestled for the company in early 2023 and she had been away from the ring because she gave birth to her and WWE announcer Corey Graves’ child.
There were health complications that arose following childbirth which put a halt on her comeback plans. For the first time since becoming a free agent, Carmella spoke about her departure from the company on the Barely Famous podcast.
She expressed that she offered to continue working while pregnant. She asked to fill roles such as backstage interviewing or being a part of the Kickoff shows. When she became aware of the nerve damage in her foot that stemmed from childbirth, she immediately let WWE’s medical team know. Carmella’s personal doctor told her the issue would resolve itself in a matter of weeks.
Speaking about her contract with WWE, she thought it would be paused until she returned. Carmella learned that it was only paused for seven weeks after she gave birth and then the contract was reinstated. She added that when she learned she was pregnant in 2023, she only had a year left on her deal.
I will say, I did offer to work when I was pregnant. I was like, ‘Please, I know I can’t wrestle but, let me go on the road, let me do backstage interviews. I’ll do Kickoff shows, I’ll do panels. Let me contribute’ because I didn’t want them to think that I’m just cool with sitting at home and getting paid and not working, right? But they were like, ‘No, just stay at home. It’s fine.’ So I was like, ‘Fine. Okay.’ So I did. I stayed at home and yeah, they were really cool about it. Usually, what’s happened in the past with women who’ve been pregnant under contract, they have their baby, they recover. As you know, every postpartum journey is so different and I don’t wanna speak on anyone else’s recovery. Mine was obviously a lot more difficult because of the nerve damage with my foot. I let them know. I think the day that I had my son, I told the head of medical, ‘By the way, just wanna let you know this is what happened, this is what’s going on’ and I think for women, women’s health in general is just so under — I don’t know the word — overlooked. Like, people don’t talk about these things and so when I had the nerve damage, they were just like, ‘It’ll just resolve in like four to six weeks. It’ll be fine…’ Yes, yes (my doctor said that). ‘It’ll be fine. It’ll just take a little bit of time.’ I’m like, ‘Okay.’ Now, months and months are going by and it’s not getting better and so then I’m going for all these tests, seeing specialists and I’ve been in touch with WWE the entire way, like, telling them what was going on and everything like that and then, I mean fast-forward until a few weeks ago and then I got a call saying that my contract was up in 10 days and basically what happened was — usually when you’re injured, your contract is on a pause. However long the contract is paused, whether it’s during pregnancy, postpartum or just a regular ole injury that you get in the ring, your contract is paused for a certain amount of time, and then when you go back to work, however long it was paused for, they just kind of tack on to the end of your contract, and that’s just kind of the impression that I was under, and then come to find out, the way it worked out was my contract was paused for seven weeks after I had my son and then reinstated. So, basically, seven weeks postpartum, my contract’s reinstated and I didn’t know. Nobody told me that I only had seven weeks off after my son and that they were going to reinstate it, and then, yeah, I guess fast-forward into it because I basically had a year left on my contract when I got pregnant. So then, when it was reinstated, January 1st, 2024, is when they decided — for whatever reason, they just picked that date and that’s the date that it got reinstated. So then January to the following February which is where we’re at now. It’s expired, and that was that.
When it was made public that she was expecting, Carmella received a letter from WWE that informed her that she had X amount of days off and seven weeks for postpartum recovery.
But I didn’t know that at the time (that I was only given seven weeks off postpartum). Nobody said that. So basically, when I got pregnant, they sent me a letter and they said that — they gave me an X amount of days off on my contract for being pregnant and then seven weeks postpartum. So basically, they anticipated how long it would take me to recover postpartum and I’m assuming they give this number to all the women who get pregnant, right? But they said in this letter, ‘No matter what, when you return to wrestling, these dates will all change.’ So basically, it’s just kind of a placeholder date and number and period of time that you have off. But when you return to wrestle, that’s the date that we’re actually going to take and that contract will be frozen for that amount of time that you were out. So, say I was out for 300 days and they’re like, okay, we’re gonna freeze your contract for 300 days, or we’re gonna freeze your contract for whatever amount of time. But I was out for 300 days. Once I came back, they would add 300 days back onto my contract, if that makes sense, and so that’s just the impression I was under because that’s how it’s worked for other women in the past and that’s how it’s worked if you’re injured or anything, and again, every woman is so different. Some girls have been out for six months postpartum, some girls have been out for 14 months postpartum, five months, eight months. It’s just, of course everyone’s recovery is different. So, it’s not (like) they can put an exact timeline on when you’re gonna return. But I just was completely shocked that they had only given me seven weeks and then reinstated my contract… but didn’t tell me.
As of this recording, the former SmackDown Women’s Champion stated that her foot is getting better, but it is not 100 percent.
She recounted pitching to return to WWE in the summer of 2024. She knew she could not wrestle, but wanted to offer what she could. She’d been in touch with the powers that be about managing a tag team. Conversations were held and seemed to be moving along, but she was ‘ghosted.’
I mean, my foot is getting better. It’s just not 100 percent yet… And the kicker is I actually offered to go back to work last summer.
I called them. I was somewhere maybe eight months postpartum and I reached out to the head of the head of everything and I was like — I wasn’t even sure if he was aware that I had nerve damage but I kind of laid everything out for him and I was like, ‘I can’t wrestle but I’d love to contribute any way I can. Here is my pitch.’ I had an idea of working with this tag team and being a manager. Carmella is a huge personality and I love talking on the microphone so let me help another team out. In the meantime, even though I can’t wrestle, but let me just contribute, and he loved the idea, he put me in touch with the head of creative and, ‘Let’s get it going and I can’t wait to see you’ is what he told me, literally point blank and I was like, ‘Okay. Cool,’ and then I was in touch with creative. They got medical clearance from my doctor — my personal doctor saying, ‘Yes, she can travel. She just can’t wrestle.’ Cool. And then, radio silence. I haven’t heard from anyone. That was the end of July I was in the middle of collaborating with them on this and then I haven’t heard anything from anyone.
They wouldn’t give me any answers on the phone either. I was like, ‘Well, why? What’s happening?’ And they’re like, ‘Ah, this is just what we’re going with right now.’ I don’t even think they said that. He was just like, ‘I’ll put you in touch with legal,’ and I’m like, ‘Legal!?’ I just wanna know why this is happening. This doesn’t feel right.
As the conversation went on, Carmella mentioned how her husband, WWE announcer Corey Graves, and Big E were able to find alternative routes to take in WWE after not being able to wrestle. She questioned why she was not given that same opportunity.
She introduced a talking point about equality and said women at WWE know they’re underpaid compared to the men.
For example, my husband (Corey Graves), years ago, he had gotten several concussions. He had to retire. They let him figure out another path. They let him try commentary and he completely excelled at that. He’s incredible. He’s like one of, if not the best commentator WWE has. He’s incredible. There’s another guy, a couple years ago, Big E, he’s a friend of mine. He broke his neck unfortunately in the ring. But, he was given the opportunity to have another avenue to succeed. Why wasn’t I afforded (those) same opportunities? That’s what I keep asking myself because I feel like I have a lot to offer. I have a fan base, I represent the company well. Why wasn’t I given an opportunity somewhere else? When I’ve shown interest and shown that I wanted to contribute in any way that I could, and they didn’t give me that opportunity and I just — is it because I’m a woman? And I don’t wanna keep saying these things but I just feel like there — it is 2025 but we still have a long way to go with equality. I think many of the women there are extremely underpaid compared to the men and that’s just a fact. Everyone there knows it. The women working there know it and they maybe can’t say it because they’re working so let me say it. I’m gonna say it and speak up for them because it’s important, and there’s some work to do I feel like.
She followed up by saying she does not want to speak poorly of the company. Her husband works there and she’s happy about that in addition to her friends that are still there who she will continue to support.
It doesn’t change it at all (Carmella said in response to how does the situation change her dynamic with Corey Graves)… I don’t wanna be speaking poorly about WWE. I had such a great experience there. I loved working there. It was 12 years of my life. I met my best friends, I met my husband there. I traveled the world and created the best fan base and the crew, everyone top to bottom, I just loved working there and that doesn’t change. My husband loves this business, he loves wrestling. This is what he always wanted to do and he’s living his dream and I fully support that and it doesn’t change at all. We still talk about it, we still talk about storylines or whatever’s happening on TV and my girl friends like Nattie and Bayley, they’re like my two best friends. I talk to them every day and I’m not gonna not support them or — you know what I mean? That was my life for so long and now it’s not. But it doesn’t change anything.
The podcast host mentioned that WWE could change their mind about Carmella no longer being with the company. Carmella questioned why would anyone want to be somewhere they’re not wanted. She is not ruling out making a return one day.
But, why would you wanna be somewhere that doesn’t want you? It’s like when you’re in a relationship and someone is trying to break up with you and you’re like, ‘No! Don’t leave me. I promise.’ No, you’re not wanted in that relationship anymore. See you later. That’s not for me and I truly feel like that door is closed. I’m not saying forever. It’s not like Carmella may never make another appearance. I think that would be great to eventually put my Jordans back on and moonwalk back out there and be in front of the fans. I think someday, it will but right now, it’s just not for me. Right now, it’s like the universe’s way of telling me there’s something else for you and I’m excited for that.
Later in the episode, Alexa Bliss’ return at the 2025 Royal Rumble was brought up. Bliss had been away after giving birth to her child.
Carmella was excited to see Bliss’ return and was hoping things would turn out the same way for her.
But when she (Alexa Bliss) came back, I didn’t know that I wasn’t ever returning. So when I was watching, I was just like — I texted her right away. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ Because she came back, she got such a great reaction and the fans were so excited to see her and I was like, ‘Hell yeah.’ I’m like, ‘You show them you can be gone for however long and then come back and the crowd is still gonna be –’ they were erupting for her and I was just so happy for her, and I was like, ‘I can’t wait to do that…’
That’s true (other wrestlers have left WWE, had a child & then returned) and that’s why, like, never say never. In the future, maybe.
Prior to Carmella learning she was expecting her child, she was going to tag with Chelsea Green in a Fatal 4-Way showcase tag match at WrestleMania 39.
The 37-year-old Leah Van Dale has spent the entirety of her 11-year wrestling career with WWE.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit the Barely Famous podcast with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
