It wasn't too long ago when WWE superstar Carmella was the center of attention on "SmackDown".
In 2018, the "Princess of Staten Island' became the first Miss Money in the Bank briefcase and cashed it in the following year to become "SmackDown" women's champion, a title she held for more than four months.
Since then, she's been out of the championship mix while being a part of the hijinx with R-Truth with the 24/7championship. But after he was drafted to "RAW", she's back on her own and focused on winning the championship again.
MORE: WWE Royal Rumble 2020 date, start time, matches, PPV cost, location, rumors
That can change very quickly at this Sunday's WWE Royal Rumble event (airing live on the WWE Network) with the winner of the 30-woman, over-the-top-rope Royal Rumble match earning a championship match at WrestleMania 36 in April. The only question now is if she'll be one of the participants (more on that below).
It's been an interesting few years for Carmella filled with plenty of ups and downs. While that came with a championship run, it also included plenty of scrutiny from outspoken fans on social media who did not like her in-ring work. And with life as a WWE superstar comes plenty of attention both in and out of the ring that includes her relationship with "SmackDown" announcer Corey Graves, something that was detailed on the most recent season of the E! Total Divas reality show.
Sporting News recently spoke with Carmella on her Royal Rumble hopes, her current WWE role, and how she deals with living a very public life.
(This interview has been slightly edited for length and clarity.)
SPORTING NEWS: The Royal Rumble is coming up this Sunday. As of now, you are not officially a participant in the women's Royal Rumble match. Would you like to make an announcement regarding that match?
CARMELLA: I wish I could make an announcement. I really don't know. I hope I'm a part of it. I've been a part of the last two so I'm really hoping that I'm going to be a part of the match but I guess you'll just have to tune in and find out.
SN: Officially, there's only been (five) women announced for the match as of right now. With the Rumble, there's always a surprise element as to who will be a part of it. Some names are announced in advance, some aren't. What are your thoughts about so many names not being announced yet?
CARMELLA: I prefer it that way. I think, like you said, that's the exciting part about the Rumble. You never know whose music is going to hit or who is going to come down. I think if you announce all the names, then there are only a few surprises whereas here, not everyone is announced it's way more exciting that way.
SN: The Rumble is such a unique match. Sometimes it can be just you and one other person in the ring and other times, there can be chaos with 10, 12,15 people in there. What's it like being a part of it?
CARMELLA: It's definitely like no other match I've ever been in. You never know what's going to happen and you have to keep your head on a swivel because I might be wrestling one girl in the corner and then someone else comes up behind you and you're not expecting it. It's definitely different than anything I'm used to.
SN: We haven't seen you on SmackDown in a little while. Where have you been?
CARMELLA: It's been a bit. I was on a few weeks ago and had a match against Sonya Deville and then Mandy Rose. You know, it's so crazy, this business. There's always ups and downs. You're either in the spotlight for a long time or you're kind of on the sidelines, but that's the way this business works. You can't always be at the top and I feel super fortunate to have been on TV regularly for my entire career on SmackDown. This is kind of the first time ever I'm taking a little bit of a break. And it's OK. Sometimes, I'm like wait, I want to be out there. I want to be a part of the action. But other times it's great because you can take a little break and you're not forced down everyone's throats and get a chance to soak everything in that happened over the last few years.
SN: When it comes to the last few years, I think a lot of people wondered would you ever been in a featured spot that you were in, becoming the first-ever Miss Money in the Bank and then going on to win the SmackDown women's championship. And I say that because we didn't get to see you in the ring a lot before you moved to WWE from NXT because you were a manager. That being said, what have these last years been like for you in WWE as you went from manager to featured wrestler?
CARMELLA: I't's been a complete whirlwind. To think about the things that I've accomplished is crazy. It's something I would only hope and dream for so I feel so fortunate and lucky to have been a part of these first-ever's for the women. No matter what happens in my career from here on out, I will always go down in history as the first-ever Miss Money in the Bank and that's something no one can ever take away from me. I think it's really cool and I don't think anyone expected me to beat Charlotte Flair or Asuka or these women who are such a high caliber in our women's division and I was in there with them and I beat them. It's really cool and I'm just so fortunate and lucky to have had the career that I've had so far.
SN: Everybody has their role in WWE. You had a great run for a while and now you're taking a step back. How do you focus on the opportunities that are given to you because, sometimes, they are going to be big ones, but other times, they're going to be smaller ones that you have to try and make the most of?
CARMELLA: One thing I pride myself on is making the most out of every opportunity I've ever been given. When I was a manager in NXT, no one expected me to break out and be a star on my own and I did that. And then having the Money in the Bank briefcase - I did that. As champion, I don't anyone expected me to last as the champion and I did that and made the most of it. Then everything I've done with Truth, I made the most of it. So I feel very lucky because my character is so diverse. She's been in so many different roles and anything I get and take and run with it. I'm proud of that because not every character could be in all those roles and make them work.
The good old days pic.twitter.com/x2MijzOe3t
— MELLA I$ MONEY (@CarmellaWWE) January 15, 2020
SN: You had quite the partnership with Truth for a while. I think everyone was wondering what would happen and where the two of you would go, especially with him as the 24/7 champion. What was it like being a part of that, especially as it grew into something that most people didn't see coming?
CARMELLA: It was never supposed to be anything. It really wasn't. He was just going around backstage saying he needed to pin me for a title opportunity as a joke because that's what Charlotte did in order to get into the SummerSlam match in 2018. He was just joking about it and then it just kind of turned into a thing. Then we got paired together for Mixed Match Challenge and then we were the only team from Mixed Match Challenge that continued to be a team beyond that competition. What you saw on TV was so real and genuine. We have a true friendship and we just had so much fun. He would crack me up. I'd be cracking up live on TV from the things he was doing in front of me and I couldn't help myself. I was laughing because he's so ridiculous. He's been around forever and he continues to find a way to stay relevant and my hat is off to him because he's such an incredible entertainer.
SN: I think that's one of the good things in working with him. You never know what direction it's going to go but if you can't keep a straight face, it's okay to laugh because it's R-Truth and it's so absurd.
CARMELLA: (laughs) That's it. I was the straight man in the whole situation in everything that we did and the escapades that we got into. I was the straight man and he got us into trouble all the time.
SN: He got moved over to RAW as part of the most recent draft last October. There were pros and cons in that you didn't get to work with him anymore but you stayed on SmackDown with your boyfriend Corey. Were you disappointed that he got moved?
CARMELLA: I was definitely bummed and felt like there was a lot more that we could have done but, at the same time, it's good for me I think because I actually get the opportunity to be in a story and just be Carmella again because it's been a while. Basically, since I lost the championship at SummerSlam to Charlotte a year-and-a-half ago. I haven't really been a major part of the women's division because I've been so involved in the stuff with Truth, which has been great. It's been a great opportunity to show a different side of my character. But I do think it's important now to step out on my own and remind everyone what I can do and what I'm capable of outside of that comedy role.
SN: When it comes to the other side of your character, for the longest time you were despised by fans for a variety of reasons.
CARMELLA: Despised is an understatement!
SN: It was like a flip of the coin and the next thing you know, people loved Carmella from being with R-Truth and showing a different side of your personality. What has it been like to go through that transformation from being disliked so much to being cheered?
CARMELLA: That was definitely something I had to get used to because, again, like I said, since going SummerSlam with the title I was booed out of the building. Completely booed out of the building. And then, not even two weeks later, I'm going with R-Truth and people are cheering me. It was so bizarre. Again, and I hate to use the word organic because I think it's so overused, but it was organic. it just happened. We weren't like, OK, now I'm going to be a good guy. It was like oh, cool. Carmella isn't that bad. She's with Truth and we love Truth and it just kind of snowballed from there.
SN: These last few years, we've also seen a lot of your personal life from being on Total Divas. Plus, you are someone who has been under the microscope when from fans on social media. What has that experience been like?
CARMELLA: Yeah, social media is ... first of all, it's taken over the world. That's what everyone is about. Being a WWE superstar, our lives are under a microscope anyway. People are always wanting to know what we're doing outside of WWE and sometimes I think people forget what we're doing on TV, we're playing a character. It's different than who we are in our everyday lives. That being said, being on Total Divas is a completely different ball game. We're putting our actually personal lives out there. I think that's difficult because you can judge Carmella in the ring however you want. I'm playing a character whether you like her or not - that's who my character is. But outside the ring on Total Divas, I'm being me and we're getting scrutinized for just being ourselves and that was the hardest thing to deal with among all of the other things that we're dealing with on Total Divas that we don't need to get into but, obviously, everyone is aware. But, it is what it is.
That's what you sign up for and it was definitely a difficult time but the one thing I've learned from the whole experience is that social media isn't real. What people say online, why do I care? Why do I care what people, who have no idea who I am, think about me? I think that's been the biggest lesson that I've learned and I hope that other people can take that and learn from it and realize that there's no reason to tear people down on social media. Why? There's no point in that?
SN: When it comes to your personal life, everyone saw you and Corey on The Bump a few months ago. Are you surprised by some of the things he revealed there? There were some salacious stories.
CARMELLA: (laughs) I couldn't believe some of the things he said! I forgot about them and then the fact that he's saying these things on WWE programming, I couldn't even believe it. I was dying.
SN: There's a London airport clothing mishap and then a shower that he mentioned.
CARMELLA: Yeah. So there were obviously a lot of details that he revealed and I didn't think he was going to go there. But, I mean, damn, our relationship's already out there for the world to see I guess so we're not holding anything back.
SN: You have your own wine, Capo Cagna. How's the wine business going so far?
CARMELLA: It's really exciting. It's been a long time in the making. It's been almost a year-and-a-half that I've been working on this wine brand. I think it's important to branch out and show that we have other interests and things going on outside WWE. The whole reason behind the brand is to embrace who you are. It doesn't matter what other people think of you. Be you, strong independent. That's what Capo Cagna is all about.
