Carmella On How She Came Up With Her Character, Backlash From Winning Money in the Bank, Total Divas

UPROXX recently got a chance to talk to Carmella about how she came up with her character, fan backlash from winning the first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match, being on Total Divas and much more. Highlights from their interview are as follows:

Has it been hard to adapt to now being on Total Divas in addition to WWE television?

“So basically, having no time I guess to go home, or to myself. This job that we already have is so time consuming. We’re always on the road. And then when we’re shooting Total Divas, we’re filming on our off days, which we only get about two days, or two and a half to three days off. So, gosh, it was an adjustment. But having the girls to film with and just kind of rely on, and knowing that okay, they’ve done this before … And it’s doable, don’t get me wrong. But it was just a lot at first. So I was like, “Whoa, what am I doing right now?”

Backlash from fans on winning the first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match:

“Gosh, the fans always have something to say. They’re never happy with anything. I could’ve won it the way I won it the second time the first time, and I feel like they still would’ve been upset with it. So, I personally loved it. I loved the controversy. I never like to do anything little. Everything I do, I need it to be big and above and beyond. And it caused such a controversy and such a stir. And it had people talking, and at the end of the day, that’s all we can ask for; people are talking about the pay-per-view, they’re talking about the match. I loved every minute of it.”

How she developed her character while training at the WWE Performance Center:

“So for me, when I first got my name, Carmella, I wanted the name Carmella, ’cause I wanted to do an Italian mafia princess type character. And I always credit Byron Saxton for this, because I went to him after I got my name. And I went and got a fur jacket at this consignment store. And I went and I told him, “I have this vision of this Italian princess character.” And he all the sudden was sitting there talking and all the sudden he’d start looking at his fingers, and he’s chewing gum, and he’s talking like, “Oh Carmella, what, you think I’m like a princess or something?”

“And I’m like, “Yes, this is exactly what I wanted to do.” And so we kind of like had this collaborative effort. But to be honest, it’s exactly what I’m still doing now. Of course, I’ve changed a little bit along the way. But, I’m still a princess. I still have this Italian backstory, which is me in real life as well. And it’s just really cool, because it was the first character I came up with, and it’s who I am now. So I feel very lucky for that.”

For the full interview, click here.