"That was a hard pill to swallow" – Former champion says she was hurt after WWE let her go

Former SmackDown Women's Champion Carmella parted ways with WWE this year after her contract expired. She commented on her departure in a recent interview.

The 37-year-old star was part of the wrestling juggernaut for 12 years. Her last televised match took place on the March 6, 2023 episode of RAW, where she lost to Bianca Belair. In February, it was reported that the former women's champion's contract had expired, and she was no longer in WWE.

During a recent appearance on The Takedown on SI, Carmella said she had no idea why the company decided to let her go and was in shock after she learned the news.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I've had some time to process it and I feel at peace with how everything happened and with what the the trajectory of my career was... "I was in shock. I was doing everything in my power to go back. I wanted to go back, and unfortunately, that just wasn't in the cards for me. I was definitely hurt. I was bummed... that was a hard pill to swallow," she said.

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Carmella says she wanted to manage Pretty Deadly in WWE

Carmella wanted to be still involved with WWE even though she couldn't perform in the ring. She said she tried to manage Pretty Deadly, and even pitched the idea, but it never came to fruition.

"I knew I couldn't wrestle, so who could I elevate? And that would be a perfect match and just something different -- not be a manager for a female talent, but what about a manager for a male tag team? And I just thought it would be so much fun. We were having so much fun, my husband and I, coming up with all these ideas. And immediately I texted Bayley, who I knew had their (Pretty Deadly) numbers. I didn't have any of their numbers because I hadn't been on the road since they got called up."

A lot of talent have departed WWE under the Triple H regime, including Dakota Kai, the first person he brought back in 2022.