PWP Nation’s Brennan Daly explains why the “Princess of Staten Island” is emerging as a breakout superstar in the women’s division of NXT
As we have seen, WWE has been pushing the Divas Revolution more and more over the past 8 months, mainly focusing on the “Four Horsewomen” (i.e. Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Bayley). All these girls have been given the praise that they rightfully deserve. They have helped transformed women’s wrestling. For far too long, not a single person (including me) even took it seriously.
But look at the change a year brings…
WWE now has women that actually want to change the industry. No disrespect to all the past Divas for their accomplishments, but these girls do not want to be remembered as “eye candy.” They want to be remembered as PERFORMERS.
Over the past couple of years, NXT has brought in a lot of the best talents from all around the world. Unlike many of those talents, one has taken more of the unnatural route to the WWE. WWE has always prided itself on creating homegrown talent. Well, it is pretty clear that they have found that homegrown star.
That talent is the “Princess of Staten Island,” Carmella.
Carmella is without a doubt one of the of the top women that we should all keep our eyes on. Even though she did not have any formal wrestling training, her dedication and willingness to succeed has been proven in such a short time. Her previous career as a dancer, fitness instructor and personal trainer have given her the tools and athleticism to adapt to wrestling.
Sara Amato, Assistant Head Coach and Producer of NXT, had this to say about Ms. Staten Island:
“Carmella is one of the quickest learners I have ever had. She knows what she’s capable of and goes after it with everything in her.”
Much like many of the “Four Horsewomen,” Carmella shares the same opinions about how she wants to change the perception of women’s wrestling. More importantly, she has expressed her thoughts that women are real athletes, who work just as hard as the men of wrestling. This attitude is what has pushed her to overcoming the naysayers and proving them all wrong.
What people don’t know is that she actually grew up in the wrestling world. Her father, Paul Van Dale, worked for independent promotions and for the WWE during the ’90s. Not many people remember him because he was often used as an enhancement talent, but with wrestling blood in her, she definitely acquired some of that athleticism and toughness from her dad; no question about it.
A wrestling pedigree goes a long way in this business. Look at Randy Orton, Natalya, Roman Reigns, Charlotte and Paige; all of these second and third generation stars have been given a pretty big push. Even though her father was not as well known as her peers’ family members, it still counts for something. One of the advantages that Carmella does have (unlike those that I mentioned), is she does not have to escape her father’s shadow or be compared to him. In the long run, Carmella won’t have to worry about outperforming her father; she can create her own path.
Carmella’s career began on September 4, 2014 on an episode of NXT. She formed an alliance with Jersey’s own Enzo Amore and New York’s “Big Cass” Colin Cassady. Originally, she was portrayed as a hairdresser in a segment with the trio. Due to Amore and Big Cass antics, she lost her job. Carmella didn’t take this lightly as she used her aggressive attitude to land an opportunity at NXT.
The trio clicked from the minute they were put together. As a unit, they used there high energy to connect with the crowd and quickly became fan favorites. The tri-state connection brought flash, swagger and trash talk, fitting of their Northeastern roots. Carmella in a very short time became the “fighter” that she wanted to be.
Finally on October 16, she made her in-ring debut fighting the ever so popular Blue Pants. Carmella got the win using her impressive looking Modified figure-four headscissors submission. Although it was a relatively short match, she showed a lot of potential. With Sasha, Charlotte, Becky and Bayley still on the NXT roster at the time, her opportunities were always going to very limited.
From that point on she wrestled once in awhile in matches that were really meant to give her the experience in which she lacked. In the mean time she continued to support her “boys” as they continued to chase the tag team title.
Everything changed on July 13, 2015 though. Raw debuted three out of the Four Horsewomen (Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Becky Lynch). NXT lost majority of their best workers and because of this, opportunities were there for the taking. Carmella began to get more and more face time and was put in storylines with some meaning, for example, her feud with Alexa Bliss.
Luckily for her and several other members of the NXT brand a show called, “Breaking Ground” aired in October 2015 on the WWE Network. This program provided a background of a lot of the wrestlers journeys to the WWE and what they have to go through on a daily basis. We got to see a side of Carmella that NXT did not show us. Carmella displayed that she wants to create her own legacy and wants to be remembered like some of her all time favorites, Miss Elizabeth and Trish Stratus.
Not only that, but we got to see the rise of “BayMella” (the combination of Bayley and Carmella). The best friends have a chemistry like no other and genuinely want to see the best for each other. This is what you want in wrestling: genuine friendship.
On the January 13, 2016, episode of NXT, Carmella got a big surprise win in a battle royal to become the number one contender to Bayley’s NXT Women’s Championship. I think it will be interesting to see how they play off of the BayMella friendship and if they convert it into a storyline.
Just being in the ring with Bayley will do wonders for Carmella. I cannot think of a bad match that Bayley has had over the last year and there is no reason to think that this one will be any different.
Carmella is composed and constantly surprising me with her athletic ability. She is definitely one to watch; and has that ‘it’ factor that WWE needs in their women’s division. Not only is she hot as hell but, she can wrestle too and you can’t teach that! I fully expect 2016 to be the year of Carmella and a future NXT Women’s Championship run should not surprise anyone.
Ba-da bing! Bright future in the ring! HOW YOU DOIN’?
Thanks for reading everyone!