Trivia / Carmella

• Acting in the Dark: When filming her debut vignette, she just assumed she was a featured extra. Producers told her that she had to make sure she said "I'm going to get fired", and then later realised that was setting her up to debut properly on NXT.
• Actor-Inspired Element: She was allowed to come up with some of the lyrics and the tone of her entrance theme.
• Breakup Breakout: By August 2018, she was the reigning SmackDown Women's Champion, and the only member of her former stable still working for WWE.
• Creator Backlash:
  • Subverted. Despite the fan backlash from James Ellsworth claiming the Money in the Bank briefcase for her, Carmella has said she would not have done the angle any differently.
  • In 2021 however, she criticised WWE's poor use of the women, especially in the lead up to WrestleMania 37.
• Dye Hard: Naturally brunette, she gradually went blonde in her time on NXT. After losing the Smackdown Women's Championship, she went back to brown. The blonde returned in 2019.
• Executive Meddling: When she was called up to Smackdown, she was told she couldn't say "how you doin'" or "bada bing, hottest chick in the ring" anymore - as she needed to be differentiated from Enzo and Cass. Before her sudden heel turn, she tested out "let's get loud" instead.
• Fake Nationality: Sort of. She's a Massachusetts girl but Carmella is from New York.
• Funny Character, Boring Actor: Carmella is either a pompous hammy Alpha Bitch or an aggressive Plucky Girl. Off-screen she's very shy and quiet in interviews. She has said that she was worried that this would hurt her chances in her tryout, as she only focused on the athleticism at first. When her coaches asked for her to show some personality, she overcompensated by really hamming it up.
• Paying Their Dues: She was homeless briefly and lived out of her car while she was a Laker's Girl. Previously she had scrubbed the bathrooms of her dance school just to be able to pay for classes.
• Portmanteau Couple Name: She and Bayley dubbed themselves 'Bay-Mella' whenever they teamed together. It was eventually referenced on TV.
• Promoted Fanboy: Trish Stratus and Miss Elizabeth were her inspirations.
• Real Life Writes the Hairstyle: Supposedly, her becoming blonde again was mandated by the office. Carmella responded to a fan on Twitter that she was "not allowed" to go dark.
• Real Life Writes the Plot:
  • She initially pitched her character as just being a Mafia girl. She however couldn't be from Massachusetts because Sasha Banks was already billed from Boston. So Carmella became a New Yorker instead.
  • Her sudden heel turn on the main roster in 2016 came about as a combination of Eva Marie getting suspended and Nikki Bella being chosen as her replacement for the 6-woman tag at SummerSlam. Nikki received a huge Face pop, despite returning on the heel side. With Becky Lynch being the top face of the Smackdown division, and Naomi having just turned back face with a new gimmick - Carmella attacked Nikki to make a Face/Heel Double-Turn.
• Recycled Script: The "Untouchable One" gimmick was essentially the "Emmalina" gimmick previously planned for Emma in 2016 that got scrapped when they felt she wasn't doing it right.
• Romance on the Set:
  • Was dating Big Cass in real life. Which added Reality Subtext to the fact that even when she was their Token Evil Teammate, she clearly had more affection for Cass than Enzo.
  • Later romantically linked to (and would go on to marry) Corey Graves, as confirmed by his soon-to-be ex-wife. Whether the relationship started before or after the two had split up depends on if you believe Corey or his wife.
• Throw It In!: 'Mella is Money' was just something she randomly said that ended up becoming a Catchphrase.
• What Could Have Been:
  • She was rumoured to be called up to the main roster almost immediately after her debut - to fill a Butt-Monkey role similar to Vickie Guerrero who had just retired. This is also why she was introduced as a heel in contrast to Enzo and Cass's face act. For unknown reasons, this was dropped and Carmella quietly turned face to stay on NXT.
  • There were also rumours that she would join Enzo and Cass on the main roster, and she did valet for them in a couple of dark matches. She claims that she was given a private meeting with Triple H where he told her she wouldn't be going up to TV with them, because they felt she could work as a solo competitor.
  • Her initial Red Baron was the Queen of Staten Island, at least according to reports from live events. By the time she debuted, she was calling herself 'Princess' instead.
  • She floated around the idea of forming a New Day-esque stable with Billie Kay and Bayley that amounted to nothing when Billie was suddenly released.
• Word of God: Has said that she purposefully avoided Evil Is Cool when playing a heel, not wanting to be "somewhat cheered and somewhat hated" - knowing the potential heat that would result.