Recently, WWE released a number of wrestlers including some of the veterans and also young talents. One of the talents that was released during this recent releasing spree was the former Women’s World Champion Carmela who remained out of action for a couple of years. She went on hiatus due to her real life pregnancy.
She gave birth to a son on November 2023 and there had been rumors of her potential return ever since the report of giving birth to her son came out. But it had been more than a year since she remained out of action even after the report came out. She was promoted to a top star at first as she won the first ever Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match and also won the Smackdown Women’s title.
Shocking Claim: Carmella Accuses WWE That She Was Released Because of Her Pregnancy
But later, WWE dropped her push and she had been treated mostly as a lower mid card. She was totally out of the main event picture as long as she was active. Last month, her WWE contract expired and the promotion decided not to extend her contract. Recently, she spoke on the “Barely Famous” podcast where she claimed that she was “punished” for her pregnancy. She said;
Carmella is a former Smackdown Women’s/ Women’s World Champion
“It just feels like a sh***y way to end a twelve year career with the company. Like, this is how it ended.” Carmella said, “I got a call saying that my contract was up in ten days…ghosted. Ghosted, completely ghosted. What if this is the end of my career? Like, what am I doing with my life? What do I have to offer?
Carmella remained out of action for a couple of years due to her real life maternity
“Why wasn’t I given an opportunity somewhere else…I feel like I’m being punished because I had a baby. Why would you want to be somewhere that doesn’t want you? I wish more for women in general and moms and especially athletes. I feel like you shouldn’t have to choose one. Why can’t you have both?”
The claim has not been verified yet, but there was actually a wrestler in the past that WWE released for getting pregnant. It was former WWE and ECW star Dawn Marie who was released from WWE back in 2005 when she was on maternity leave. Carmella can still be seen in the wrestling ring, but probably in a different wrestling promotion, or maybe she will return to WWE sometime in the future.
H/T - eWrestlingNews
