Corey Graves has offered an update on the status of his wife, Carmella, real name Leah Van Dale, hinting that her professional wrestling career may not be fully over.
Speaking with Bill Apter, Graves was asked about Van Dale and gave a warm update on how she is doing while also leaving the door open for a future return to the ring.
“She’s fantastic, she’s fabulous. She’s taking motherhood very seriously, she’s killing it. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of her in this realm. We got some time. She’s got her hands full now though. We’re raising the new Road Warriors basically. That’s the plan,” Graves said.
Van Dale’s WWE contract was not renewed in early 2025 after she had been away from the ring since early 2023 following the birth of her and Graves’ first child. The couple welcomed their second child in October 2025. Van Dale recently teased a potential in-ring return on social media after reacting to AEW’s B3CCA using a version of her Code of Silence submission on Collision, writing that she did not retire and might have to come back to show others how it is done.
Van Dale spent 12 years with WWE, putting together an impressive list of accomplishments including the SmackDown Women’s Championship, WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, four 24/7 Championship reigns, the first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank briefcase in 2017, and the Mixed Match Challenge season two trophy alongside R-Truth.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Bill Apter’s interview with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
