I can joke around and say I look and do the best, but honestly, I just feel like, whatever situation I'm in, I want to do the best at it and keep improving.
— Carmella
I won Money in the Bank twice, and then I cashed it in to become Champion. I was Champion. No one can ever take that away from me.
I just love the Carmella character. It's so over the top. It's so extra. She's not afraid to be herself and say what's on her mind, and I think a lot of people can relate to that.
I want people to know that I'm getting where I'm going or how I'm getting there - by myself, through my hard work, and nothing more.
It's cool to show different sides of myself and my character. I feel like not that many people get to do that.
It's just surreal that I was the first Ms. Money in the Bank.
In the NFL, you're part of a team. You work together to win. Being a WWE Superstar is all about me. No team. I'm special.
People say that wrestling is not ballet. But as a former ballerina, I'd like to see some of these men put on a pair of tights and go do what a dancer does. Because it's a lot! It's definitely difficult.
One thing that I'm super fortunate of - I grew up in a house where it was all about health and fitness. My dad was a wrestler; he was a boxer. He's always been into working out, and so I was the only kid in the first grade that got carrot sticks at school instead of chips.
I love the feeling of being in front of a live crowd and performing and just kind of letting loose and getting the crowd involved, and I got to perform at the Superbowl and at the Staples Center, you know, at the Lakers game, which was amazing.
I'm very confident in my ability to learn, but every time I'm in the ring, I can't believe the things I can do and that I've learned.
I feel it's important to show different sides of my character, and I never take myself too seriously.
For sure, J-Lo is the best.
It's always fun to play the bad guy, that's for sure.
I was 4 years old and wanted to be the scariest witch anyone had ever seen. My mom painted my face green, darkened my eyebrows, and put a mole on my nose so I could fully look the part.
I come from a big Italian family, and I grew up around wrestling.
I just feel it's important to do what's right and not necessarily what is right for you but right for everybody.
I feel like I have this really cool journey that I get to show all these different sides to Carmella.
My body isn't made to be thrown on or get hit with ladders.
To be honest, I came up with the Carmella character completely on my own.
I never like to do anything little. Everything I do, I need it to be big and above and beyond.
I'm game to make a fool of myself.
I love the small-town vibe.
I love to be talky and tell everyone how good I am.
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.
For me, it's not an option to not be in shape and to not work out. I just always try to make time for it and strength train four or five days a week, and I'm always eating clean, so - don't get me wrong, though - I love a good pizza and some wings every now and then.
I didn't think I could become a wrestler, and I did it.
I love fashion, and I try to incorporate that.
Something I took away from Kurt Angle's Hall of Fame speech was never be afraid to make a fool of yourself, and don't take yourself too seriously. I really let that sink in and ran with it.
I depended a lot on being an over-the-top, ridiculous, obnoxious, Staten Island Princess. That's what I did, and I guess the rest is history.
It's OK if you fail a few times. Just keep getting back up until you nail it.
My name is Carmella, and I'm the moonwalking, trash-talking princess of Staten Island.
If I try to act cool and do things that get a positive reaction, then I'm not doing anything for the person I'm in the ring with.
I know my role as a bad guy is to get everyone to hate me.
My name will always go down in history as the first Miss Money in the Bank. It's so cool!
I, in my real life, wish I could be like Carmella a little bit more.
I was obsessed with Miss Elizabeth when I was a little girl.
Gosh, the fans always have something to say. They're never happy with anything.
I wouldn't have traded my career path for anything.
There were a hundred people in my graduating class. I wouldn't have changed it for the world.
I've done wrestling, and I've done dance, and I would say they're both equally hard on the body.
I feel very fortunate to be the face of the women's division on 'Smackdown Live' and defend that championship any opportunity that I get.
I was a dancer for over 20 years.
I love interacting with the fans and being a positive role model for little girls.
Any opportunity I get, I want to make the most of it, and I'm not afraid to look like an idiot.
I beat Charlotte Flair. And now, it's time to party.
It just brings a different element to the table when you're wrestling with a guy as a partner because you don't know what's going to happen. When you have just a regular women's match or regular men's match you know they're going to fight. When there's a little bit of a mixture, you never know what's going to happen, and I think it's a lot of fun.
The most important lesson is to never get comfortable; always come up with new ideas; learn something new; try something new.
I was in NXT for about a little over two years, and then I was drafted to 'SmackDown Live,' and now I can say I'm the first-ever Miss Money in the Bank.
The 'Mella Is Money' is something I just started saying. And now it's a thing.
