Carmella's WWE Contract Expires; Technically Removed From Roster (WWE News)
Technically, Carmella is no longer part of WWE's active roster as of February 2025.
Fightful Select is reporting that former SmackDown Women's Champion (now the Women's World Title held by Rhea Ripley) Carmella is no longer under WWE contract. Her deal with the market leader expired recently. The website didn't detail exactly when her contract lapsed, but it's now clear Mella technically isn't on the active roster and won't be returning unless something else is thrashed out in the future.
Her last match for WWE came on a 12 March 2023 house show. There, she teamed with Damage CTRL (Bayley, IYO SKY and Dakota Kai at the time) and Piper Niven vs. Becky Lynch, Asuka, Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae and Nikki Cross. Before that, Carmella's last actual televised match fell on the 6 March 2023 episode of Raw. That was a loss to Belair in singles action.
These bouts were actually part of Mella's return. Previously, she'd been benched between August 2022-February 2023. Shortly thereafter, as Fightful reported, Carmella went on maternity leave before eventually giving birth to a baby boy in November 2023.
Since then, Mella herself has detailed post-pregnancy issues with drop foot. That prevented her from launching a WWE return before now. Obviously, things could change going forwards, but as of late-February 2025? Carmella is no longer under WWE contract.
Carmella's Husband Corey Graves Was Recently Demoted
There's been a fair bit of drama involving Carmella's real-life husband Corey Graves during her time away from the company.
In January 2025, Graves posted a fiery message on X claiming he was told he's "not famous enough" to be a lead commentator for Raw's debut on Netflix and beyond. Corey was sent to NXT, which apparently didn't sit well with him. He's since slotted in next to Vic Joseph and Booker T on the developmental brand.
Michael Cole recently broached the subject during an appearance on Logan Paul's show. There, the lead WWE announcer told fans that Corey's plight wasn't a work but instead a shoot situation. He said he's very fond of Graves and enjoyed working with him, but he's unsure exactly what happened to cause Corey's apparent demotion.
Stay tuned for more on Carmella's future, as well as what's happening with Graves, when it breaks.