Carmella Explains How She Came Up With Her WWE Ring Name

To compensate for her lack of wrestling experience coming into WWE, Carmella quickly carved out a solid foundation of character work to set herself apart. As a result, the moon-walking, trash-talking, "Princess of Staten Island" was born. Recently speaking with Scott McGlynn, the former "SmackDown" Women's Champion revealed the original concept, and motivation, behind her popular persona.

"I came up with Carmella because I did not come from wrestling," she explained. "A lot of the girls at the point when I started, they all came from a different avenue of wrestling and I never had any background in wrestling at all. So I thought, 'Well, then my thing that I need to be really strong in is my character, and I really just wanted to bring it.'"

Channeling her Boston roots, Carmella (real name Leah Van Dale) transformed herself into a "mob wife" character reminiscent of the figures on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey." After further research into mob-related shows such as "The Sopranos," Carmella admitted she wanted her on-screen image to "look amazing" and "over the top," with a knack for trash-talking.

"I'm really grateful that my character is just — that's what people know me by," she added. "They know that Carmella talks a lot of trash. She does the moonwalk, she looks the part. It's so much fun."

After parting with her "Princess of Staten Island" gimmick in late 2020, Carmella took on a more glamorous, self-absorbed, role, donning the moniker of "The Most Beautiful Woman in All of WWE." In early 2023, though, Carmella reappeared as her former self as she rejoined the ranks of "Raw."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Scott McGlynn's Instagram with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.