Leah Van Dale (Carmella) Reveals New Details On Shocking WWE Exit And Pro Wrestling Future

Van Dale was released from her WWE contract earlier this year, while away from the wrestling business after having her first child and recovering from injury. That move impacted her significantly and she is still unable to fully articulate a reason for her departure.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Van Dale said. "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."

Following the birth of her son Dimitri, Van Dale developed a case of what's called Drop Foot. A condition that greatly hindered her attempts to get back to work.

"I had deep fibular nerve damage behind my right knee when I had him. I was really hobbling along for months. And I was going through physical therapy. I was seeing different spine specialists and neurologists. You name it, I've been going and seeing that type of doctor... And WWE was aware of this. I mean, the day I had my son, I told them, 'Hey, by the way, this is what's going on.' And I kept them informed on what was happening."

Then February rolled around and Van Dale received the stunning news that WWE was not going to be renewing her contract.

"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."

After Van Dale had her first child, she was never cleared for in-ring action in WWE, but the former champion said she worked hard to pitch ideas so she could contribute without being a full-time wrestler.

One of the ideas that was close to being green lit would have seen Carmella return to television as the manager for Pretty Deadly.

"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."

The idea of working with Kit Wilson and Elton Prince was one she first discussed with her husband, WWE commentator Corey Graves, and pretty soon she was reaching out to others in the company to really get the ball rolling.

"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."

It wasn't long before Van Dale was able to get a hold of Elton and Kit to run all her ideas by them.

"They loved it, and they were so on board. They're like, 'Yeah, let's pitch it.' So then I pitched it and, again, it was well received and then it just didn't happen."

Carmella made her WWE main roster debut in July of 2016 and was a part of significant historical moments for women in WWE, including winning the first-ever Money in the Bank Ladder Match and participating in the first-ever women's Royal Rumble. Van Dale says she looks back on fondly on that impact and is proud of what she was able to accomplish.

"I'm so grateful. I feel like the way my career turned out, how it started, and everything it evolved into, it was all meant to be," Van Dale said. "To be a part of the women's evolution and to be part of all of these first-evers. It got to a point where it's no longer a big deal that the women were doing these things because it was just so normalized.

Regarding her legacy, Van Dale looks back on and was amazed to realize she main-evented Smackdown more than 10 times during a period where it was unheard of for women to do that in WWE. She thinks she and fans will appreciate her career more in the coming years.

"I'm just so grateful and I feel like because I'm still so close to it, like it's still so fresh, I think over time, it will hit me, and I think it will also hit the fans in the WWE Universe -- my contribution to this business and to know what I gave to this company. I feel like I was different from a lot of women. I had a strong character and I had a lot of great matches, and I was a part of a lot of great firsts."

Van Dale is currently pregnant with her second child and running her own brand, Snatch, so a return to the ring isn't in the cards, but never say never.

"I feel like at this point in my life I'm really trying to just pivot," Van Dale said. It's a time for a change. I feel like I did that for 12 years and now I'm really trying to just focus on being a mom, building my brand, Snatch. Not to say I'll never go back. I think at some point I'd love to put my Jordans back on, move on back out there, and get in the ring again. At some point, just not right now, I'm trying to focus on other things."