She might not be the Smackdown Women’s Champion anymore but Carmella is still one of the featured performers on the brand. She recently introduced a new look at a WWE live event in Tucson, Arizona.
“Mella” looks to have dyed her hair from blonde to brunette.
Carmella has been working in triple threat matches for the Smackdown Women’s Championship at live events lately, though it’s not clear if that’s what match she wrestled in this weekend.
On WWE programming she has been aligned with R-Truth as of late. The two comprise a team for the WWE Mixed Match Challenge as well.
Carmella Lashes Out At Fans Critical Of Divas
The former Smackdown Women’s Champion has been a staunch defender of the term Diva as of late. Recently on Twitter, she responded to an article which blasted the Bella Twins as holding back the women’s evolution.
“This is an embarrassing article,” Carmella Tweeted about an article critical of the Bellas. “Every single woman from the past and current roster have made women’s wrestling what it is. EVERYONE is deserving. Enough of the negativity around the “diva” moniker.”
Smackdown General Manager Paige also chimed in and voiced support for both Brie Bella and Nikki.
Road Dogg is asking fans to pick a side in the Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair rivalry. While he isn’t saying which side he wants them to pick, Road Dogg is adamant that fans choose one of the two to cheer for. Road Dogg made the comments while responding to a fan on Twitter. A fan commented on Road Dogg saying he’s not trying to turn fans against Becky when the Smackdown creative head responded.
Pick a side. That’s what I’m asking you to do, pick a side!!!
The Flair vs Lynch rivalry has been contentious since before Summerslam. Lynch went on a winning streak and earned a title match against Carmella. Flair then returned from hiatus and was added to Lynch’s title opportunity by defeating Carmella in a non-title match. This also led to R-Truth and Carmella becoming a tag-team in the Mixed Match Challenge but that is another story entirely.
Flair won the title at Summerslam by capitalizing on Lynch’s turned back. She has stated since that Lynch would have done the same thing. The two will meet one-on-one on Sunday for the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
WWE star Carmella was recently interviewed by KATC TV to promote SmackDown Live in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Carmella opened up on her professional wrestling career, and how she was influenced by her father. The former SmackDown Live Women’s Champion’s father is Paul Van Dale, a former jobber in WWE. After her cheerleading career in the NFL and NBA, Carmella decided to follow in her dad’s footsteps:
“I have a background in dance so I danced my entire life, since I was three years old,” said Carmella.
“And I cheered in the NFL [for the Patriots), in the NBA [for the Lakers]. My dad was a wrestler back in the early 90s, so it just brought everything full circle with my dad’s background and my love of performing and entertainment, and now here I am in the WWE.”
After cheerleading for the New England Patriots for three seasons, Carmell applied to Tough Enough in 2010. She withdrew her application, however, as she landed a gig cheerleading for the Los Angeles Lakers.
In 2013 she joined NXT and made her main roster debut in 2016. Carmella went on to defeat Charlotte Flair for the SDL Women’s Championship. She did this by cashing in her Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase, the first ever won by a woman.
Charlotte eventually won the title back from Carmella at SummerSlam, and “Money” is looking to get another crack at “The Queen”:
“Well, Charlotte Flair,” Carmella said. “She took my title from me. I did beat her twice, however she beat me and took my title from me unfortunately. But I’m gonna get it back.”
Discussion: What do you think about Carmella’s father’s influence on her WWE career? Let us know in the comments section below!
Carmella opened up on various topics including WWE dropping the term “Diva” and her dream opponent during a recent interview. The former SmackDown Women’s Champion spoke to The Examiner to promote the WWE live event next Monday at Ford Arena. A few years ago, WWE decided to get rid of the term “Diva” and started calling female talent Superstars just like the male talent. Although some see Diva in a negative way, Carmella disagrees with that mindset.
“I’m not sure why the term diva is considered negative,” she said. “They were only allowed a few minutes for matches on television and didn’t have the TV time like the men did but they made the most of it and it wasn’t their fault.”
She continued by stating that they paved the way for the current roster and be in the position where they are now so she doesn’t think it’s bad to be called a diva. She added that she likes to dress up and is proud of the way she dresses.
Carmella also talked about her dream opponent and who she wants to face at the upcoming at the Evolution pay-per-view event that takes place on Sunday, October 28, 2018 in Long Island, New York at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on the WWE Network. She would’ve liked to work with Trish Stratus but Alexa Bliss took that spot.
“Trish Stratus would be amazing, but honestly, I just so happy to be part of this monumental event. I am having the time of my life and it’s a perfect time to be a woman in the WWE. We are making history left and right.”
Carmella is not scheduled to compete at Hell in a Cell, as of this writing.
Tonight’s episode of Smackdown and 205 Live will emanate from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON, Canada. The city and venue have just been announced as the host of Summerslam 2019 weekend.
Smackdown 8/28 Preview
Smackdown Women’s Championship Charlotte Flair (c) vs Carmella
Carmella has cashed-in her rematch clause and will face Charlotte Flair tonight for the title. This will be the 4th time the two women have faced each other for the Smackdown Women’s title.
Carmella cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase on the April 10th, 2018 Smackdown. She defeated Charlotte Flair in 7 seconds to win her first WWE championship. Flair then cashed in her rematch at Backlash but Carmella rolled her up and pinned her after Flair’s knee buckled following a missed moonsault.
Flair then defeated both Becky Lynch and Carmella in a triple threat match for the title at Summerslam. What role Becky Lynch might play in this match is unclear.
New Day Celebrate Tag Team Championship Gold
After winning the championships last week, New Day will hold a title-victory celebration tonight.
Don’t expect the Bludgeon Brothers to interrupt this celebration either. Rowan is likely out for several months with a torn bicep.
Tag-Team #1 Contenders Tournament The Club vs The Bar vs The Colons
For the second straight month, Paige has organized a tournament to determine new contenders for the Smackdown tag-team championships.
There will be two triple threat tag-team matches with the winning two teams facing off to determine who gets a crack at New Day. The second triple-threat match participants have yet to be announced.
The Colons return to action for the first time since January as Epico has been out with an injury.
Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella Segment
The rivalry between WWE power couples will continue to tonight. Last week, an inter-gender match between Brie and Bryan against the Miz and Maryse was confirmed for Hell in a Cell.
Not much is advertised for this other than Bryan and Bella will likely be involved in a talking segment.
Samoa Joe and AJ Styles Segment
It was confirmed last week that Samoa Joe and AJ Styles will once again wrestle for the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell. Joe came out of their Summerslam tilt with the victory but not the championship after Styles was DQ’ed.
This highly personal rivalry, which has involved Styles’ wife and daughter, will rage on tonight.
205 Live 8/28 Preview
Drew Gulak Demands Another Shot At The Cruiserweight Championship
Drew Gulak has put the entire division on notice that there will be no peace until he receives a rematch for the Cruiserweight Championship.
Gulak dropped the most recent CW title match to Cedric Alexander on the Summerslam Kickoff show. Alexander used a clever pinning combination to get the victory over the submission expert to retain.
What does Drew Gulak have in store for 205 Live tonight?
WWE Superstar Carmella participated in a roundtable for the European media this past weekend to promote SummerSlam. “The Princess Of Statin Island” was asked who her best friend in WWE is.
Carmella revealed that Bayley is her best friend in WWE, as they came up together in NXT and still talk frequently. She’s admittedly disappointed, however, that they’re currently on different brands:
“Bayley’s my best friend,” Carmella said. “For sure, yeah. We’ve been friends since NXT and um – it sucks cause she’s on Raw and I’m on SmackDown but we still talk every single day and she’s one of my really good friends.”
The interviewer followed up by asking Carmella about tag teaming. She was asked who her ideal tag team partner would be – from WWE’s past or present. Having already worked with him in the Mixed Match Challenge, Carmella named Big E.
She explained that she had a lot of fun working with Big E for the Mixed Match Challenge. Carmella also said she loves pancakes and The New Day:
“If I could have any tag team partner, I would pick Big E. Because we were partners for the Mixed Match Challenge and we had so much fun, and I love pancakes, and he’s just the best. And I love The new Day – so I would pick Big E.”
Discussion: What do you think about Carmella naming Bayley as her best friend in WWE? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
For the seventh time in her career, Charlotte Flair is the women’s champion after defeating Becky Lynch and Carmella at SummerSlam.
After making her return to action, Flair was able to overcome both champion and challenger in a triple threat match.
A lot was made during the match about the friendship between Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, which definitely played a major part in the outcome.
The end sequence saw Becky Lynch nearly get the submission with the ‘Disarmer’ but Charlotte was able to reverse the position by hiting her with ‘Natural Selection’.
Charlotte got the pin to earn the title as Carmella’s reign as champion comes to an end.
Afterwards, as Charlotte embraced her friend, Becky Lynch turned on her with a big punch that brought the Brooklyn crowd to its feet with chants of ‘you deserved it’ throughout the arena.
Becky assaulted Charlotte before tossing her over the announce table as she makes her turn from friend to foe in what will undoubtedly become the next big rivalry on Smackdown Live.
As for Carmella, her title reign came and went without really playing a major part in the result, which has to be a bit of a disappointment considering the heat she has been getting over the past few months.
Now Charlotte once again reigns as champion on Smackdown Live as her seventh reign (combined with the RAW women’s title) begins.
What did you think of the triple threat match between Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Carmella?
Since joining Instagram, The Undertaker has been revealing a lot more about his real personality. It turns out “The Dead Man” is actually a pretty big gun enthusiast. He took to his Instagram and revealed a gift his wife, former WWE Women’s Champion Michelle McCool, got him for Father’s Day.
Taker showed off a new custom safe, with one of his guns, for his “2a toys” (second amendment toys). The safe reads “Deadman Inc.” and also has Taker’s logo under it:
Carmella Reacts To Charlotte’s Addition To SummerSlam Title Match
On this week’s episode of SmackDown Live, Charlotte Flair was added to the SmackDown Live Women’s Title match at SummerSlam. Carmella will now defend her strap in a Triple Threat match against Flair and Becky Lynch at “The Biggest Party Of The Summer.”
Carmella took to Twitter and voiced her displeasure for Charlotte’s addition to the match:
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella has opened up on the current state of the WWE women’s division as well as reflected on her WWE career.
Carmella spoke with News-Press to talk about various topics as well as promote the SmackDown live event this coming Monday night in Estero, FL at the Germain Arena.
WWE Women’s Division
Carmella feels that fans are talking the women more seriously now more than ever because WWE is booking them in gimmick matches and having them main event pay-per-view events. The sky’s the limit in her eyes and that it’s to the point now where it’s not even a big deal if the women main event on SmackDown or on RAW.
“Because it’s just kind of become the norm. Whereas before, it was like, ‘Oh my God, the women are main-eventing Smackdown Live tonight!’ Now it’s no big deal. The women are the norm.”
Her WWE Career
The SmackDown champ stated that a lot has changed in a year for her because one year ago, she won the Money in the Bank contract and put herself on the map to the point where she is the champion now as it solidifies all the hard work and a testament to the WWE Performance Center that made her into the wrestler she is today. “That’s where you learn to hone your craft. I didn’t come from wrestling, and I never wrestled outside of WWE. So I’m kind of a homegrown talent. I learned everything from the performance center and NXT.”
What are your thoughts on Carmella’s comments? Sound off in the comment section.
Smackdown and 205 Live this week will emanate from Evansville, IN.
3 matches have been confirmed for tonight’s shows thus far.
On 205 Live, a fatal 4-way match will take place to determine a new #1 contender to Cedric Alexander’s Cruiserweight Championship. Meanwhile, on Smackdown, Paige will announce who AJ Styles will defend his WWE Championship against at SummerSlam.
Smackdown 7/24
Paige Reveals AJ Styles’ SummerSlam Opponent
Smackdown General Manager, Paige, has announced she will reveal who Styles’ new challenger is tonight. Whether she announces a match to determine AJ’s next challenger or just announces a name outright isn’t yet known, however.
Styles’ last title defense came against Rusev at Extreme Rules. Rusev had won a gauntlet match on Smackdown to earn the title shot.
Non-Title Match
Becky Lynch vs Carmella
SummerSlam title match implications will be on the line tonight in a match between Becky Lynch and Carmella. This match was made last week with the stipulation that if Lynch is victorious she will earn a title match against Carmella at SummerSlam.
Lynch has gone 4-0 since Money in the Bank on Smackdown. She’s won single’s matches on 4 of the last 5 episodes of Smackdown. In that time she has defeated Billie Kay, Sonya Deville, Peyton Royce, and Mandy Rose.
Smackdown Tag-Team Tournament
The New Day vs Sanity
In a rematch from Extreme Rules, New Day take on Sanity tonight. The winner moves on to the finals of the 4-team tournament and will meet the winner of the Bar vs the Usos.
Sanity defeated New Day on the Extreme Rules Kickoff show but tonight is the match which has title implications on the line.
Why Did Randy Orton Almost Rip Jeff Hardy’s Ear Off?
Twice now we have seen Randy Orton target Jeff Hardy during a match against Shinsuke Nakamura. Why is Orton targetting Jeff Hardy? What is the status of Jeff Hardy’s earlobe following last Tuesday’s encounter with the Viper?
We will hopefully have answers to these questions after tonight.
Is WWE Building Towards The Miz vs Daniel Bryan At SummerSlam?
All signs point to the long-awaited Miz vs Daniel Bryan one-on-one match to take place at SummerSlam. Last week, Bryan crashed a mock-funeral Miz held for Team Hell No. This week should only further the tension between the two vastly different Superstars.
205 Live 7/24 Preview
#1 Contenders Match
Mustafa Ali vs Hideo Itami vs TJP vs Drew Gulak
Just one match has been announced for 205 Live tonight. Mustafa Ali, Hideo Itami, TJP, and Drew Gulak will battle for the right to face Cedric Alexander for the Cruiserweight Championship.
TJP is the only former Champion in the match. Alexander defeated Mustafa Ali for the vacant title on the WrestleMania 34 Kickoff show. He also defeated Hideo Itami on the July 10th episode of 205 Live. He’s faced Drew Gulak 5x in the history of 205 Live. Alexander has won 3 of those matches to Gulak and lost the other two. Gulak’s only victories over Alexander were both in early 2017.
– James Ellsworth’s future in WWE appears uncertain after Asuka annihilated the man himself to the tune of kicks, strikes and a smothering Asuka Lock following her loss to Carmella last Sunday at Extreme Rules. Then two days later on SmackDown LIVE, General Manager Paige asked Carmella how “her boyfriend” is doing. Carmella appeared disgusted, saying “eww” and that he’s not her boyfriend.
With Ellsworth seemingly out of the picture as Carmella’s associate, WWE Network personality Peter Rosenberg wants to give the SmackDown Women’s Champion “a real manager.”
On Friday, Rosenberg responded to Carmella’s latest Instagram post with the following: “I have so many ideas for when I supplant @jamesellsworthwrestling and give you a real manager!”
https://instagram.com/p/BldpeSEl6ql/
– Ahead of SummerSlam on August 19, WWE tweeted this 60-second highlight video looking back at SummerSlam 1989 from the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
In the main event, WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan enlisted Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake for a tag team match against “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Zeus.
Ultimate Warrior also struck gold for the second straight year at SummerSlam, defeating rival “Ravishing” Rick Rude for the Intercontinental Championship.
Smackdown Women’s Champion, Carmella, is having a great time on social media this morning. Carmella was victorious over Asuka last night at Extreme Rules. It was her second straight victory over Asuka, having defeated her at the Money in the Bank event last month as well.
She was able to win the match after throwing Asuka head first into the shark cage which was supposed to be holding James Ellsworth.
Some of Carmella’s critics took to Twitter to let the champion know how they feel about her victory last night. Carmella was all too happy to respond to them.
Aw, don’t feel sorry for me.. 1. I’m the champ 2. I beat Asuka AND Charlotte 2x 3. First ever Ms MITB 4. I’m hot 5. I’m rich 6. I’m damn good at what I do 7. I’m humble af
Internet: “Carmella sucks at breathing. It’s so unfair she gets to breathe more than girls who are better than her at breathing. She gets zero stars for not knowing how to breathe properly!!”
“Me: (breathes) Internet: “Carmella sucks at breathing. It’s so unfair she gets to breathe more than girls who are better than her at breathing. She gets zero stars for not knowing how to breathe properly!!”
The pinned Tweet atop Carmella’s Twitter feed lists the opponents she’s beaten:
Carmella is the 6th person to ever win the Smackdown Women’s Championship. She won the title by cashing-in her Money in the Bank contract on Charlotte Flair during the 1st Smackdown following WrestleMania this year.
As of this writing, Carmella has held the title for 97 days, good for the 3rd longest reign of all time. Charlotte Flair holds the record for the longest reign at 147 days. Naomi holds the record for the most title defenses in a reign with 5. So far, Carmella has held the title for 97 days and defended it 4x on WWE programming (i.e not including house shows).
Naomi’s 5 title defenses are also the all-time accumulative record for the title as well.
James Ellsworth might not be sticking around WWE for much longer. At Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view from Pittsburgh, Ellsworth once again helped Carmella defeat Asuka. He did the same thing last month when he re-appeared in the promotion at Money in the Bank, distracted Asuka, and allowed Carmella to get the win.
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer, Ellsworth’s latest run with the company could already be over. “I wonder if that’s it for him,” Meltzer questioend. “He’s working independent dates everywhere. They never signed him, they never offered him a contract this time out.”
With Ellsworth on only a per-show agreement, his future with the company may consist of occasional one-off appearances. The beating he took at the hands of Asuka last night could serve as a way for WWE to write him off television for the near future.
James Ellsworth in WWE
Ellsworth first debuted with the company as one of Adam Rose’s Rosebuds in 2014. He would frequently be in Rose’s entourage when the company was in Baltimore or the surrounding area.
His first match with WWE was shortly after the brand-split in 2016. The company was utilizing occasional squash matches at the time and Ellsworth was a frequently used enhancement talent. He wrestled Braun Strowman in Pittsburgh in his first match.
#Pittsburgh is where it all started 2 years ago for me when I stepped into the Ring with @BraunStrowman
Always good going back to the arena that will always have a special place in my heart
– On Wednesday, WWE filmed SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella for a “great project” coming out later this year.
Joey Maloney, who handles producing, directing and cinematography on a wide range of features for WWE’s digital platforms, posted this behind-the-scenes photo of Carmella from the video shoot.
https://instagram.com/p/BlHKKPSgO4f/
With SmackDown taking place the night before in Manchester, New Hampshire, the shoot was apparently for a documentary-style video where Carmella returns to her hometown in the New England area. On her Instagram Story, she posted videos with her parents earlier in the day. Carmella also posted photos visiting her old dance school.
– With Extreme Rules taking place this Sunday, a number of WWE stars paid tribute to the hardcore icons of ECW, such as The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, and Sabu. Sonya Deville dressed up as Raven for the ECW photo shoot and the two-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion tweeted his thoughts on her impersonation.
It’s funny, when asked who should play me in a movie (which of course will never happen) I always say Kristin Stewart… However, if it was a wrestler playing me,@SonyaDevilleWWE is perfection!
– Sean Waltman celebrates his birthday today as the former WWE/WCW wrestler turns 46 years old. In honor of his birthday, the official Instagram account for the WWE Network posted this clip of Waltman’s WCW debut on September 16, 1996, where he was shown sitting in the front row for a live episode of WCW Monday Nitro.
https://instagram.com/p/BlLlYQ0hLZk/
Later that night, Waltman stood and used a remote control to release New World Order (nWo) propaganda from the ceiling, revealing himself as the newest member of the recently formed faction. As the sixth member of the nWo, he became Syxx. WCW based his ring name on six being the sum of numbers of his name in the World Wrestling Federation, 1–2–3 Kid.
Add WWE star Tyler Breeze to the list of professional wrestlers getting in on the video game streaming community. The Breezango member has officially launched his very own Twitch channel, Breezeman88, Where he will play games and chat with fans.
Breeze has been prominently featured on Xavier Woods’ gaming channel, UpUpDownDown, several times in the past few years:
Well guys. New development! You can now subscribe! @Twitch Breezeman88 Check it out!
WWE Champion AJ Styles and SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Carmella recently paid a visit to Melbourne, Australia for a promotional tour. You can check out “The Phenomenal One” and Carmella’s highlights from their trip in the video below:
WWE has already announced that Carmella would defend her SmackDown Women’s Title against Asuka at the upcoming Extreme Rules pay-per-view event that takes place on Sunday, July 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the PPG Paints Arena and will air on the WWE Network.
Carmella posted the following prediction on Twitter ahead of her next title defense.
It’s well known that former WWE RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair was recently featured in ESPN Magazine’s Body Issue with a host of other athletes.
The official Twitter account of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon congratulated Flair with this post on the social media platform:
The ultimate beauty of body and soul. Congratulations @MsCharlotteWWE for being featured in @ESPN Magazine’s Body issue.
News about Big Cass’s release has been the big topic of the wrestling community lately. The reason why his sudden release has been brought into the light.
Three Strikes And You’re Out
While many sources claim that Cass’s heat goes as far back to when he expressed his political views about Donald Trump backstage with bad reception, it’s been his recent return from injury and the events following that lined him up for the unemployment line.
The segment where Big Cass attacks a “little Daniel Bryan” wasn’t supposed to last as long as it did. According to the Pro Wrestling Sheets, officials were mad that Cass “went into business for himself” and didn’t follow the script.
Sports Illustrated‘s Justin Barrasso reported Cass “was drinking the majority of [WWE’s] European tour and had attitude issues when drunk.” Which only dug the hole even deeper.
The last straw comes an incident that involves Cass’s ex-girlfriend, Carmella.
According to WrestlingNews.co, reports come in from last Friday that Cass “caused a scene” when speaking to Carmella. She tried walking away but was immediately “grabbed by her arm” which led to other wrestlers to intervene.
PWInsider reported on Thursday that Cass has a 90-day no-compete clause that went into effect immediately after his release, which will prevent him from immediately working with another wrestling company.
Carmella was ready for Asuka. She defeated her last night at Money in the Bank thanks to a returning James Ellsworth. In the closing moments of the match, Ellsworth appeared in disguise at ringside. As the challenger was distracted by Ellsworth in an Asuka mask, Carmella hit a super-kick and pinned her for the win.
The victory is Carmella’s second successful title defense on WWE programming, her first coming against former champion, Charlotte Flair. Carmella has defended it 20x when you include house shows, however.
WWE.com caught up with Ellsworth and Carmella following the match.
James Ellsworth Cancels Booking in China Days Before Money in the Bank
In the days and weeks leading to Money in the Bank, rumors began to circulate Ellsworth could be at the event. Ellsworth countered by stating he was booked for Middle Kingdom Wrestling in China that day.
Last week, Middle Kingdom Wrestling announced that Ellsworth had informed them at the last minute that he would not be attending the event. The company released the following statement regarding his canceled booking:
“James Ellsworth was scheduled to appear this weekend (June 16/17, 2018) in Harbin, China as part of Middle Kingdom Wrestling presents Eyes on the Prize and an MKW Meet N Greet party. This booking has been in place since February.
James Ellsworth informed us last night that he will not be traveling to China. This news came after repeated attempts by MKW management to contact Ellsworth over the last six days to confirm travel arrangements.”
Ellsworth also played a major role in last year’s Money in the Bank PPV as well. On that night, he helped Carmella win the first-ever women’s Money in the Bank match.
The official Twitter account of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon paid tribute to the late Ultimate Warrior on what would’ve been his 59th birthday. He passed away shortly after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame back in 2014.
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella recently took to her official Twitter account to hype her upcoming title defense against Asuka at the upcoming WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view event on Sunday, June 17, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena. She wrote the following:
“Tomorrow I will make history AGAIN when I defeat @WWEAsuka. I will be the first woman to beat BOTH Charlotte Flair AND Asuka. Man, I gotta say, being legendary is exhausting… but someone’s gotta do it. ????? #MITB #MellaIsMoney.”
Tomorrow I will make history AGAIN when I defeat @WWEAsuka. I will be the first woman to beat BOTH Charlotte Flair AND Asuka. Man, I gotta say, being legendary is exhausting… but someone’s gotta do it. ????? #MITB#MellaIsMoney ?? pic.twitter.com/jtnOOD2WR1
SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Carmella is expected to defend her title against Asuka at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view (PPV) on June 17th from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
The pair recently exchanged some words with one another on Twitter ahead of their match-up. Here’s what they had to say:
Who is Asuka? Empress of Yesterday. Stoppable. Beatable. She used to be what I am today. Nobody is ready for Mella. #MITB
WWE Superstar R-Truth has released a new hip-hop single, “That’z Endurance,” which is streaming on WeOnRadio.com. A preview for the song can be found below, which features Mannish Mania and is produced by J-Trx:
Despite being drafted to SmackDown Live in the Superstar Shake-Up, Truth has been out-of-action for the past several months due to a shoulder injury. There is currently no news on when he might be ready go get back into the ring.
Eddie Guerrero Holds A Great Record Over Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar is undoubtably the most dominant man in WWE today. Since winning the Universal Championship from Goldberg at WrestleMania 33 last year in Orlando, Lesnar has successfully defended his title against the most elite RAW has to offer.
According to PWStream on Twitter, Lesnar hasn’t been pinned in a championship match in 14 years. The last man to do it? Eddie Guerrero back in 2004 at the No Way Out pay-per-view (PPV):
Even at that, Goldberg assisted Latino Heat in taking the WWE Title off The Beast, but nonetheless, he’s the only man in 14 years to have pinned Lesnar in a WWE Title match. Lesnar went on to lose to Goldberg at WrestleMania 20, while Guerrero successfully defended his title against Kurt Angle.
Carmella On Salary Rumors
SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Carmella recently responded to a fan on Twitter who mentioned a rumor that she makes only 120k a year. Here’s how the Princess Of Statan Island responded:
SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Carmella recently did a Q&A for WWE’s website to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Here are just some of the highlights:
The SmackDown LIVE after WrestleMania, you cashed in on Charlotte Flair. What made that the right moment?
At WrestleMania, there’s so many big moments, and I didn’t want it to get lost. I wanted everyone to be talking about it. The SmackDown after was the perfect opportunity. Charlotte did the impossible and broke Asuka’s streak. The WrestleMania Week crowd is such a special vibe. Plus, my parents and family were there. I wanted them to see it. It was perfect.
Once the referee counts three and you have the SmackDown Women’s Championship in your hands, what’s going through your mind?
“All of the hard work that I’ve put in over the last few years. Everything came full circle. I thought about being the last draft pick, not debuting with Cass & Enzo on the Raw after WrestleMania. I thought about everyone doubting me, telling me I’ll never be champion, that I’m just a hype girl. I thought about all of that and … the feeling I had was indescribable.
“I love proving people wrong. I love doing things that people say I can’t do. I started my journey in NXT four years ago, and now I’m champion. People can complain and say whatever they want, but I’m still the champion. I did it. I’ll never forget that feeling.”
You’ve still been dealing with your fair share of detractors on social media lately, including those who think your title win is tainted because of The IIconics’ attack on Charlotte. Ultimately, what do you have to say to those who think you don’t deserve to be where you are today?
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks I deserve. I don’t deserve anything; I earn it. I worked hard and put in the effort. People say that I went off what The IIconics did, but that’s what every single Money in the Bank holder did — wait for the perfect opportunity.
“You don’t just wait for the champion to be up and then have a normal title opportunity. You have to be sneaky. You have to do it in the way that guarantees a title win. I didn’t want to cash in and lose it. At the end of the day, I don’t care what anyone says because I did everything the way I wanted to do it, and I won.”
You can read Carmella’s full Q&A for WWE by clicking this link here.
Yesterday morning former WWE Champion JBL Tweeted out a gif of himself clotheslining Billy Gunn, joking that he hurt his arm because Gunn ran so hard into him. SmackDown Live writer Road Dogg responded and said he himself ran into JBL’s clothesline hard twice in one match once.
JBL responded by telling Road Dogg that he and Gunn should’ve learned to work better. Road Dogg jokingly responded by saying he still hears that same complaint today, only people now spell “work” as “w.r.i.t.e.” A podcast’s Twitter account attempted to troll Road Dogg with a response, but JBL was quick to jump to his old friend’s aid:
I noticed a lot of people ran really hard into your arm on this move. 1 time I did it twice in one match so hard that It knocked me out each time. Do you remember that? I don’t!!
Ironically enough that tweet is the most well written piece you’ve produced in years… pic.twitter.com/uIJ06GsgUY
— The Alleged Wrestling Podcast (@TheAWPod) May 11, 2018
Actually @WWERoadDogg is one of most creative minds I have ever come across and I do have just a little experience in the business, I believe he does an awesome job. Writing a global tv show 52 weeks per year is incredibly tough, bashing it on a podcast is not. https://t.co/iUQeWmmPqY
Coming up with fresh ways to bash it 52 weeks per year can be tough too! All joking aside, we prefer not to bash; we hype what we enjoy, and also criticize what we didn't enjoy, but in a constructive way (most of the time). It's essentially a discussion about the sport we love
— The Alleged Wrestling Podcast (@TheAWPod) May 11, 2018
Carmella Responds To Meltzer’s One Star Rating
Many of you may know that F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer has a famous five star rating system in which he grades professional wrestling matches. Recently, Meltzer rated Carmella’s SmackDown Live Women’s Title match against Charlotte Flair at Backlash with one star.
A fan asked Carmella how she felt about Meltzer’s rating, and she responded by acting like she didn’t know who he is:
Last night SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Carmella successfully retained her title against Charlotte Flair during the Backlash pay-per-view (PPV). There were a few sloppy spots during the match that fans called The Princess Of Statin Island out for on Twitter.
Carmella decided to respond to some of these comments on Twitter; ranging from people telling her she has no in-ring talent, to others saying she’s nothing more than eye candy. Check it out:
RAW Superstar Natalya took to social media to pay tribute to her late uncle Owen Hart, who would’ve turned 53-years-old today. Hart passed away back in May of 1999 after taking a fall from the top of the rafters in a stunt gone wrong at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri for the Over The Edge PPV. He died from internal bleeding and blunt force trauma at a nearby hospital:
Cody Rhodes On Bruno Sammartino’s WWE Network Special
Ring Of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Cody Rhodes took to Twitter to comment on the WWE Network special on WWE Hall Of Famer Bruno Sammartino.
Sammartino recently passed away last week at the age of 82-years-old. Rhodes seemed to enjoy the special and said he would’ve loved to see Cesaro work with Sammartino in Madison Square Garden back in the 70s:
WWE posted the following video of SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Carmella signing her contract to defend her title against Charlotte Flair at Backlash early next month. The official contract signing was supposed to happen last night on SmackDown – but after Flair signed the contract she attacked Carmella before she could. Carmella signed the contract in the following video backstage with Renee Young:
