Carmella Talks Her Dad Working With WWE, Which NXT Diva Is Her Best Friend, Miss Elizabeth, More
Recently, the 'fabulous' Carmella was a guest on Sam Roberts' Wrestling Podcast. Among other things, the former New England Patriots Cheerleader and Laker Girl talked about her father, Paul Van Dale, being an enhancement talent for WWE, whether she prefers being a professional wrestler or a manager, being friends with NXT Women's Champion Bayley, and her thoughts on the Divas Revolution.
Although Carmella did not have professional wrestling experience prior to signing with WWE in June of 2013, she said she was always around it growing up because her father was an independent wrestler and WWE enhancement talent.
"I grew up watching wrestling and in wrestling because my dad wrestled when I was younger. He wrestled independently and in the WWE in the '90s, so it's just bringing everything full circle being here in the WWE." Carmella added, "when [Van Dale] does get a chance to see me, he's so proud. And he watches NXT every single week and he's always calling me [and] telling me what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong, so it's really cool."
Carmella, who debuted in NXT as the manager of Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, said that she does not want to chose between being a manager or a wrestler, as she is happy just to be performing.
"I feel so lucky because I get the best of both worlds. I get to go out and wrestle on my own, but I still get to be a part of Enzo and Cass, [which] as you said, is one of the biggest and most popular acts here in NXT, so I can't just chose one. I really enjoy both, especially with my background cheering. I'm out there cheering on my boys! But I just love performing in front of the cameras, so when I'm out there and wrestling on my own too, it's such a cool feeling, just all eyes are on me." Carmella continued, "I'm so grateful and I have so much fun either way, so when I'm with the boys, I feel like I'm a certain character, but when I'm by myself, I have to kind of amp it up because I'm just out there by myself."
Carmella stated that she hangs out with Bayley in her spare time and even their dogs are best friends. Carmella said that people never expect her and Bayley to be best friends, but they are.
"I don't know if you know that, but we're Baymella. And we're just super silly and crazy and we mess with people, like, on our little road trips to our shows all the time and we're just messing with people any opportunity we can get, pranking people. That's just what we do!"
On the topic of the Divas Revolution, Carmella claimed that she wants to prove that female wrestlers are real athletes who work hard. She said her goal is to "go straight to the top" and she is proud of the progress she has made thus far having been in the ring for only a year and a half.
"When I first started [at WWE], it was just beginning of the Divas Revolution." Carmella continued, "I am just so excited to be able to have an opportunity to show that we're athletes and we're here to work hard and we're not just here to have these little five-minute matches that are about how we look. It's more than that."
With that said, Carmella indicated that she idolized Miss Elizabeth growing up and cites 'The First Lady of Wrestling' as inspiration in her WWE career.
"Watching [professional wrestling] when I was younger, I idolized Miss Elizabeth. For me, I was like, 'okay, that is a diva. That's what I want to be.' She's classy and she always looked the part. She looked fabulous. And that to me, that is what I want to portray, so to be here now in this time with the Divas Revolution, it's perfect for me."
In addition to these topics, Carmella discussed her dance background, her training regimen, and much more. Click here to listen to the rest of the show.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast