Van Dale applied to be part ofWWE Tough Enough in 2010, but withdrew from the selection process after being accepted as a Laker Girl and moving toLos Angeles.[18] In June 2013, Van Dale signed a contract withWWE and she was assigned to the company'sdevelopmental territoryNXT in late September.[3] Later, she adopted thering name Carmella.[1]
Carmella made her debut on the September 4, 2014, episode ofNXT, portraying ahairdresser in a segment withEnzo Amore andColin Cassidy, where Amore and Cassidy asked for hair remover wax from Carmella, ultimately leading to a mishap where they spilled some wax onto a dog's fur.[19] Two weeks later onNXT, Carmella appeared in another segment withAmore and Cassady at theWWE Performance Center, announcing she had lost her job as a hairdresser due to Amore and Cassidy's actions the week prior and asked for a job at NXT.[20] She made her in-ring debut on the October 16 episode ofNXT, wrestling an unnamed opponent whom Amore and Cassady dubbedBlue Pants.[4] Carmella defeated Blue Pants on two occasions, but lost to her on the January 1, 2015, episode ofNXT after Amore accidentally caused a distraction.[21] In March, Amore and Cassady began a rivalry with theNXT Tag Team ChampionsBlake and Murphy while Carmella rejected Blake and Murphy's advances on several occasions.[22] On the May 13 episode ofNXT, Carmella was defeated byAlexa Bliss after a distraction by Blake and Murphy.[23] On May 20 atNXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, Bliss attacked Carmella during the NXT Tag Team Championship title match, ensuring the win for Blake and Murphy.[5]
While continuing tomanage Amore and Cassady, Carmella beganfeuding withEva Marie, which led to a match between the two on the August 26 episode ofNXT, which Carmella lost.[24] In January 2016, Carmella won abattle royal to become the number one contender toBayley'sNXT Women's Championship.[25] Carmella unsuccessfully challenged Bayley for the title on February 10.[26] After the match, Eva Marie andNia Jax attacked the two, which led to atag team match on the February 24 episode ofNXT, which Carmella and Bayley lost.[27] Carmella made her first appearance on WWE's main roster on March 12 atRoadblock, accompanying Amore and Cassady for their match againstThe Revival for the NXT Tag Team Championship.[28] On the May 25 episode ofNXT, Carmella competed in atriple threat match against Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax to determine the number one contender toAsuka's NXT Women's Championship atNXT TakeOver: The End, but she waspinned by Jax.[29]
After being drafted to theSmackDownbrand on July 19 as part of the2016 WWE draft,[6][7] Carmella made her main roster debut for the brand a week later, confronting the brand female talents before being interrupted by Eva Marie.[8] On the August 9 episode ofSmackDown Live, Carmella achieved her first victory on the main roster by defeatingNatalya.[30][31] On August 20 atSummerSlam, Carmella took part in a six-woman tag team match alongsideBecky Lynch andNaomi that was won by their opponents Alexa Bliss, Natalya, andNikki Bella after Bella pinned Carmella.[32][33] Two days later onSmackDown Live, Carmella attacked Nikki Bella, turningheel in the process and starting astoryline feud between the two.[34][35][36][37] Simultaneously with her feud with Bella, Carmella took part in asix-pack elimination challenge to determine the inauguralSmackDown Women's Champion on September 11 atBacklash. She was the last woman eliminated by Becky Lynch.[38] She was also part of Team SmackDown in the traditional five-on-fiveSurvivor Series match on November 20 atSurvivor Series against Team Raw, where she was the first participant eliminated byAlicia Fox.[39] On December 4 atTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Carmella lost to Nikki Bella in ano disqualification match to end their feud.[40]
Carmella then moved into astoryline withJames Ellsworth, professing that she found him "uniquely attractive" and he later started accompanying her to her matches.[41][42][43][44] On April 2, 2017, Carmella made herWrestleMania debut, competing in a six-pack challenge for the SmackDown Women's Championship, but was unsuccessful.[45] In late April, Carmella formed analliance, dubbed The Welcoming Committee, with Natalya andTamina, and the three started a feud with Becky Lynch,Charlotte Flair, and Naomi.[46][47][48][49] The two teams faced off in a six-woman tag team match on May 21 atBacklash, where The Welcoming Committee was victorious.[50][51]
On June 18 atMoney in the Bank, Carmella was declared the winner of the inaugural women'sMoney in the Bank ladder match after Ellsworth obtained the briefcase and dropped it to her.[52] Two days later onSmackDown, Carmella was stripped of the briefcase and a second Money in the Bank ladder match was set by SmackDown General ManagerDaniel Bryan.[53] On June 27, Carmella regained the Money in the Bank briefcase after she won the second match with the help of Ellsworth.[54] In November, Carmella ended her association with Ellsworth after he lost to Becky Lynch in anintergender match.[55] On January 28, 2018, at theRoyal Rumble, Carmella participated in the firstwomen's Royal Rumble match, where she entered at number 17, lasting over 18 minutes before being eliminated by her former rival Nikki Bella.[56] She then appeared in the firstWrestleMania Women's Battle Royal atWrestleMania 34, but was the first woman eliminated from the match bySonya Deville.[57]
After 287 days (the longest period ever for a wrestler to hold the contract) and a few unsuccessful attempts to cash in her briefcase on Charlotte Flair,[58][59][60] Carmella officially cashed in her contract on the April 10 episode ofSmackDown Live, afterThe IIconics (Billie Kay andPeyton Royce) attacked Charlotte Flair, she defeated Flair to win the SmackDown Women's Championship for the first time in her career.[61][62] In her first title defense, Carmella defeated Charlotte Flair atBacklash.[63] Shortly after, Carmella was placed in a feud withAsuka that ultimately led to a title match between the two atMoney in the Bank,[64][65][66] which Carmella won after a distraction by the returning James Ellsworth.[67] In a rematch between the two, which took place atExtreme Rules, Carmella again defeated Asuka to retain her title (with Ellsworth suspended in ashark cage).[68] After losing to both Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in non–title matches,[69][70] it was announced that Carmella would face both of them in a triple threat match atSummerSlam on August 19.[71] At the event, Flair pinned Lynch to win the championship, ending Carmella's reign at 131 days.[72] Two weeks later, Carmella received her rematch against Flair but she was unsuccessful in regaining the championship.[73][74]
In September 2018, Carmella (right) established a friendship withR-Truth
Towards the end of her title reign, Carmella was placed in a storyline withR-Truth, after the latter implied that he wants a "title match by pinning her" (similar to Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair's title opportunities).[75][76] On the September 4 episode ofSmackDown Live, Carmella turnedface, after she agreed to manage Truth for his match withThe Miz to avoidMaryse's interference.[77] Shortly after, Carmella started managing Truth and the two were also announced as tag team partners for the upcoming season two ofMixed Match Challenge, calling themselves "The Fabulous Truth".[78][79][80][81] In November, Carmella once again took part ofSurvivor Series as part Team SmackDown, where she went on to eliminate Tamina before being eliminated by Bayley.[82][83]
Carmella and Truth lost the first three matches of Mixed Match Challenge, before defeatingRusev andLana to qualify for the playoffs, and the team went on to defeatJeff Hardy and Charlotte Flair in the quarter-finals[84] and previous winners The Miz and Asuka in the semi-finals.[85] In the final of the Mixed Match Challenge that took place at theTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view, on December 16, Carmella and Truth defeatedJinder Mahal and Alicia Fox, earning both the number 30 spots for their respective Royal Rumble matches atRoyal Rumble.[86] At Royal Rumble, she participated in the Royal Rumble match, but was eliminated by Charlotte Flair.[87][88]
In February, Carmella started teaming up with Naomi[89][90] and the two took part of a six-teamElimination Chamber match for the inauguralWWE Women's Tag Team Championship at thenamesake pay-per-view, where they were the first team eliminated.[91] On theWrestleMania 35 kickoff show Carmella won the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal, with lastly eliminatingSarah Logan.[12][13] In May, Carmella took part in the Money in the Bank ladder match at thenamesake pay-per-view,[92][93][94] where she once again displayed a knee injury and was ultimately unsuccessful in winning the match.[95] The "knee injury" was used to spark a feud between Carmella, and Fire and Desire (Mandy Rose andSonya Deville),[96] which ended quickly as Carmella continued to manage R-Truth, who won theWWE 24/7 Championship and she helped him escape and defend it against various competitors.[97][98][99][100][101][102] On the September 23 episode ofRaw, Carmella rolled-up Truth to capture the 24/7 Championship from him.[14] Her title reign came to an end 11 days later, duringSmackDown's 20th Anniversary on October 4, when she was pinned byMarshmello backstage.[103] Later that night, Carmella regained the title from Marshmello in a segment that took place in theparking lot.[104] During theHell in a Cell, Tamina pinned Carmella to end her second reign with the title at only 2 days, but a few minutes later, Carmella helped Truth defeat Tamina to win the 24/7 Championship.[105] The alliance between Carmella and R-Truth was ended abruptly during thedraft, when Truth was drafted to theRaw brand and Carmella remained on theSmackDown brand.[106] On the November 8 episode ofSmackDown, Carmella andDana Brooke defeated Fire and Desire to qualify as part of Team SmackDown atSurvivor Series,[107] but they lost to Team NXT at the event.[108][109]
In September,vignettes began airing onSmackDown hyping the arrival of a mystery woman.[120][121][122][123] Six weeks later, on the October 2 episode ofSmackDown, Carmella revealed herself as the mystery woman and began using the new mantra of "Untouchable", along with a new theme song.[124] After a five month hiatus, she made her first appearance on the show on the November 6 episode, where she attackedSasha Banks following her title defense against Bayley, thus turningheel.[125] Towards the end of the year, the two continued to cutpromos and attack each other, which eventually led to a match for the SmackDown Women's Championship at theTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event.[126][127][128][129][130] At the event, on December 20, Carmella faced Banks for thetitle in a losing effort.[131]
Carmella would team up withBillie Kay atWrestleMania 37 to participate in aTag Team Turmoil match to determine the number one contenders againstNia Jax andShayna Baszler for theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship, but were unsuccessful in the match. Carmella then faced both members of the Riott Squad individually, and beat them both. She then proclaimed herself "The Most Beautiful Woman in All of WWE".[citation needed] She would then have 3 opportunities for the SmackDown Women's Championship against Bianca Belair, one on the July 16 episode of SmackDown, one on the July 23 episode, and one at a house show in Louisville, Kentucky, but during all three of them, she would be unsuccessful in capturing the title.[citation needed] Carmella was then scheduled to be Sasha Banks' replacement for SummerSlam against Bianca Belair, but was then attacked by a returning Becky Lynch.[132] Carmella lost toLiv Morgan at theExtreme Rules kickoff show.[133]
On August 6th, Carmella suffered an injury during alive event.[143] Carmella returned on the January 30, 2023, episode ofRaw, with her previous gimmick which she used until 2020.[144] The following week onRaw, Carmella defeatedCandice LeRae,Mia Yim, andPiper Niven in afatal four-way match to qualify for the women's Elimination Chamber match at thenamesake pay-per-view.[145] At the event, Carmella failed to win the match after she was last pinned by Asuka.[146][147] Following the March 13 episode ofRaw, Carmella went on hiatus from in-ring action due to her real-life pregnancy.[148] On February 21, 2025, it was reported byFightful that Carmella’s contract had expired and is no longer with WWE, ending her near twelve-year tenure with the company.[149] Carmella had previously stated that she was recovering from post pregnancy complication,drop foot.[150]
Carmella joinedTotal Divas as a main cast member for the show's seventh season in June 2017.[154][155][156] Despite being a guest in the eighth season, Carmella returned to the show as a series regular in the ninth season, which premiered in October 2019.[157] The season featured Carmella's real-life relationship with Matthew Polinsky (better known as WWE commentatorCorey Graves).[158][159]
In 2019, Van Dale appeared onRon Killings' 2019 single "Run It".[160]
On June 11, 2020, Van Dale and Polinsky launched a weekly podcast calledBare With Us, where the two discuss different issues regarding relationships including issues within their own. It is Van Dale's first podcast as a host and Polinsky's second (along withWWE After the Bell, which he hosts as Corey Graves).[161]
Van Dale was in a relationship with fellow wrestler William Morrissey, better known asBig Cass in WWE.[162]
In 2019, she began a relationship with fellow WWE employee Matthew Polinsky, better known asCorey Graves.[163] The two got married on April 7, 2022.[164] On October 31, 2022, she revealed on her Instagram account that she had anectopic pregnancy, which resulted in amiscarriage.[165] On May 1, 2023, the couple announced they were expecting their first child.[166] Van Dale gave birth to a son on November 8, 2023.[148][167] On April 29, 2025, Van Dale and Polinsky announced that they expecting their second child.[168] Their second child was born in October 2025.[169]
^Carmella won the Money in the Bank ladder match atMoney in the Bank, but due to the controversial finish at the event she was stripped of the briefcase two days later. A rematch took place on the June 27 episode ofSmackDown Live, where Carmella won, officially becoming the inaugural winner of the women's Money in the Bank ladder match. However, WWE recognizes Carmella as a two-time Money in the Bank winner.[10]
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