Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler are the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Rousey & Baszler won a four-way for the vacant Tag titles on Monday’s Raw to win the titles for the first time as a duo.
Former title holders Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan were forced to relinquish the Tag titles after Morgan suffered an injury. Rodriguez teamed with Shotzi in Monday’s title match, which also featured teams of Bayley & IYO SKY, plus Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville.
Rousey secured the victory for her team by submitting Shotzi with an armbar.
The win is the third Women’s Tag title reign for Baszler, who twice captured the titles with Nia Jax. Baszler & Jax spent a combined 215 days as Tag champs over their two reigns.
Rousey once again holds gold in WWE for the first time since December 2022 when she dropped the SmackDown Women’s title to Charlotte Flair.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including A WHOLE SEGMENT FILLED WITH GOOD NEWS, a look at the Britt Baker shirt and the WWE draft, and then, something happens and Bryan gets a special delivery. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Carmella’s recent absence from WWE programming has been explained.
Along with her husband Corey Graves, Carmella revealed on Monday to Good Morning America that she is pregnant. The couple first discovered they are expecting in March and the baby is due in November.
“It’s just all been such a whirlwind,” Carmella said. “I think because of my past, it was hard to get excited off the bat about this one, but I was cautiously optimistic. I try to have a good mindset, a positive mindset this time around, and it’s working. So I’m very happy about that.”
Earlier this year, Carmella appeared on After the Bell with Graves and spoke about having suffered two miscarriages last year. An ectopic pregnancy landed her in the hospital for several days in October and Carmella said the experience left her with feelings of depression.
“When it happened again with the ectopic, I just [felt] like this is so crazy,” she continued. “I just thought you get pregnant, you have a baby. Of course, you’ve heard of miscarriage, but I don’t know anyone personally that has gone through it, especially multiple times. So, when I went through it the second time, and it was a health issue for me as well, and not just the fact that I was losing a baby, I mean, my life was on the line … it was just traumatizing and the most devastating thing that I’ve gone through, because you’re not only going through this extreme medical condition, but you’re also going through the loss of your child.”
Carmella hasn’t wrestled since a March 12 house show from Madison Square Garden in New York. In the build-up to WrestleMania 39, she had been teaming with Chelsea Green and appeared to be going after the WWE Women’s Tag titles. However Carmella was quietly removed from television and eventually replaced by Sonya Deville in the program.
Carmella has opened up about dealing with a “deep depression” as a result of an ectopic pregnancy.
The 35-year-old returned to the ring earlier this month after a seven-month absence from WWE. Speaking on an episode of her husband Corey Graves’ After the Bell podcast, Carmella commented on the personal journey she went through during this time.
Carmella said:
I was dealing with an ectopic pregnancy, which means that the pregnancy was not viable, couldn’t move forward with it, and it’s actually something that [Graves] and I were both learning together, is very, very dangerous, and something that a lot of women don’t actually make it through.
She continued:
Not only am I in the emergency room for this crazy medical condition that we have to monitor very closely, I was on bed rest for four weeks straight, couldn’t do anything, but then I’m also processing the loss of our baby. So, it was a double whammy. Through all of that, we made it through and I’m so, so grateful, and I’m not trying to gloss over any of this. I mean, I was in a deep depression for a while, it was really hard but I felt like it was necessary for me to share my story because even though I had [Graves], I had my family, I have never felt so alone because it’s kind of blaming yourself, ‘What did I do wrong? How could I have prevented this?’ But it turns out there is nothing I could have done, it’s just how your body reacts.
Carmella continued to say that she feels it’s important to share her story for all the other people out there dealing with similar issues. She spoke about hearing from many women who dealt with the same condition or knew someone who had.
I was excited to have a baby and then it’s all taken away and it was just a very difficult time. It felt like my return was up in the air, I didn’t know, am I ever going to go back to work? Am I ever going to feel okay?
Carmella specifically mentioned the support she has received from Stephanie McMahon during this time.
Stephanie McMahon, I’m going to get emotional thinking about it, she was so supportive of me through all of it, reached out to me several times, we had several phone conversations about it. Even after my return a few weeks ago, she texted me saying ‘so good to see you back, hope you’re feeling alright.’
Not only does she preach women-empowerment, she practices it. I’m just so forever grateful for her and the support that she’s shown for me through all of this.
The former LA Laker and New England Patriot cheerleader is approaching her 10-year anniversary in WWE. She originally signed with the company in June 2013. Carmella is a one-time SmackDown Women’s Champion, held the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships once with Zelina Vega, won the MITB in 2017, and is a four-time 24/7 Champion as well.
Montez Ford, Damian Priest, and Carmella are all set to enter the Elimination Chamber later this month.
The final three spots in the men’s and women’s matches were filled during Monday’s Raw. Priest pinned Angelo Dawkins to advance, while Montez Ford pinned Elias. Both now advance to the February 18 event, where they will meet Seth Rollins, Bronson Reed, Johnny Gargno, and Austin Theory in a match for the WWE United States Championship.
Carmella pinned Candice LeRae in a match that also featured Michin and Piper Niven. With the win, Carmella will now face Asuka, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Nikki Cross, and Natalya. The winner of the women’s Elimination Chamber match will meet Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 39 in April.
Here is the updated lineup for Elimination Chamber:
WWE Elimination Chamber, Saturday, February 18, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Sami Zayn
Edge & Beth Phoenix vs. Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley
Elimination Chamber match for the United States Championship: Austin Theory (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Bronson Reed vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Damian Priest vs. Montez Ford
Elimination Chamber match, winner challenges Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania: Asuka vs. Liv Morgan vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Nikki Cross vs. Natalya vs. Carmella
Becky Lynch vs. Bayley in a steel cage match, Carmella’s in-ring return, and multiple Elimination Chamber qualifying matches are set for next week’s WWE Raw.
Becky Lynch and Bayley will finally have their steel cage match on next week’s Raw in Orlando, Florida. Lynch issued the challenge to Bayley on this week’s episode after threatening to attack Dakota Kai, and Bayley accepted. The match was originally set for last week’s Raw 30th anniversary show, but was scrapped in favor of an angle with Lynch and Damage CTRL due to time constraints.
Three Elimination Chamber qualifying matches have also been announced for next week’s Raw.
Carmella will make her in-ring return after a six-month absence next week in a four-way Elimination Chamber qualifying bout. She will take on Candice LeRae, “Michin” Mia Yim, and Piper Niven.
After Rhea Ripley declared her intention to face Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s title at WrestleMania, Adam Pearce announced on Raw that there would be an Elimination Chamber match at the PPV of the same name on Saturday, February 18 to decide who will challenge Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s title at WrestleMania. The final four eliminations from Saturday’s Royal Rumble were automatically entered into the Chamber match, with next week’s qualifying match deciding a fifth participant and one participant still to be determined.
A pair of qualifying matches for the United States title Chamber match on February 18 are also set for next week’s Raw.
Montez Ford will face Elias in one qualifier, while Angelo Dawkins will take on Damian Priest in the other. Bronson Reed, Seth Rollins, and Johnny Gargano won qualifying matches on this week’s show to earn their spots in the Chamber match, where Austin Theory will defend the US title.
Next week’s Raw lineup:
WWE Raw, Monday, February 6 —
Steel cage match: Becky Lynch vs. Bayley
Elimination Chamber qualifying match: Carmella vs. Candice LeRae vs. Piper Niven vs. “Michin” Mia Yim
Elimination Chamber qualifying match: Damian Priest vs. Angelo Dawkins
Elimination Chamber qualifying match: Montez Ford vs. Elias
The announced Elimination Chamber lineup:
WWE Elimination Chamber, Saturday, February 18, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Elimination Chamber match for the United States Championship: Austin Theory (c) vs. Bronson Reed vs. Seth Rollins vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Damian Priest/Angelo Dawkins winner vs. Montez Ford/Elias winner
Elimination Chamber match, winner challenges Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 39: Asuka vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Nikki Cross vs. Liv Morgan vs. Carmella/Candice LeRae/Mia Yim/Piper Niven winner vs. TBD
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including an interview with Nick Hausman regarding what he’s heard about CM Punk of late, updates on Sasha Banks, Carmella, ratings, the return of Dark Side of the Ring, your weekly RAW report and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Nick Hausman discusses the AEW/Punk situation
24:49: Sasha Banks went to Mexico City, Carmella discusses miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy
26:42: Ratings
36:27: NXT and AEW previews, Dave watched Suzuki vs. Tom Lawlor
46:57: Dark Side of the Ring and Wrestling With Shadows re-release update
With today being the final day of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, WWE star Carmella (real name Leah Van Dale) opened up about recently suffering two pregnancy losses.
Carmella shared in an Instagram post on Monday that she suffered an early miscarriage this September. After that loss, she got pregnant again but had to be treated for an ectopic pregnancy today.
Carmella wrote that she spent 12 hours in the emergency room on Saturday after experiencing sharp pains on her left side. After tests and ultrasounds were done, she was diagnosed with an abnormal pregnancy.
An ectopic pregnancy “occurs when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the main cavity of the uterus.” If left untreated, it can cause life-threatening bleeding for the pregnant woman.
Carmella noted that the reason she’s choosing to share what she’s been through is that it’s something people don’t talk about enough. She wants to help women who have suffered the same kind of loss understand that they’re not to blame and there isn’t anything wrong with them.
I’ve gone back and forth with myself about posting this because I’m not looking for any sort of sympathy, but since today is the last day of Infant Loss Awareness month, I wanted to share my story. Today, I was treated for an ectopic pregnancy. I never thought something like this would happen to me, especially after suffering from an early miscarriage in September. Nothing can prepare you for this news after getting a positive pregnancy test. I was cautiously optimistic this time around after the early loss I had already experienced, but was hoping for the best. I spent 12 hours in the ER on Saturday when I started experiencing some sharp pains on my left side. After several tests and ultrasounds, I was given the devastating news that this was, in fact, an abnormal pregnancy. The reason I’m sharing all of this is because in the moment it feels so isolating. Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about this? My husband and I watched [Iliza Shlesinger’s] new comedy special last week and she spoke openly about her miscarriage. I immediately burst into tears. She went on to explain that we should be speaking more openly about this topic so we, as women, don’t blame ourselves and think there’s something wrong with us. I want to do the same. I’m part of this statistic and it’s happening to me. Again, I’m not looking for sympathy, I know I’ll eventually recover from all of this mentally, physically and emotionally. For anyone dealing with ANY type of pregnancy loss, I want you to know your feelings and emotions are valid, there is NOTHING wrong with you and you are not alone.
Carmella and WWE commentator Corey Graves (Matthew Polinsky) got married this April.
This August, Carmella suffered a head injury while competing at a WWE house show. She hasn’t wrestled since that match.
A trio of Hall of Famers will be featured on the next episode of WWE Table for 3.
It was announced today that a new Table for 3 episode titled “New Generation Gathering” will premiere on Peacock/WWE Network this Friday (October 14). Jerry “The King” Lawler, Kane, and Bret Hart are appearing on the episode.
Lawler, Kane, and Hart will discuss WWE’s “New Generation” era, which began in the early-to-mid 1990s and ended with the introduction of the Attitude Era.
Hart was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006, Lawler was inducted in 2007, and Kane was inducted in 2021.
This month marks the 25th anniversary of the Kane character’s debut. Glenn Jacobs played Fake Diesel and Isaac Yankem DDS prior to that. As Isaac Yankem, Jacobs was aligned with Lawler in a feud against Hart.
After being on hiatus since 2019, Table for 3 returned with new episodes this April. The most recent episode prior to this featured the Steiner family (Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, and Bron Breakker).
Both Carmella and Tatum Paxley may have suffered injuries on WWE house shows this weekend.
Social media posts from fans at Saturday’s show in North Charleston are stating that Carmella hit her head and was unable to continue her match against Bianca Belair and Asuka.
“OH NO!! they threw up the x for carmella, she got hit in the head in the corner when bianca tried to back flip over her,” wrote @Sashasliv on Twitter.
“She got up on her own to walk away which is good, but they were like shielding her eyes from the bright lights,” reads a follow-up post.
WWE also held an NXT house show in Gainesville, Florida on Saturday. Social media posts from those in attendance are stating Paxley’s match against Sloane Jacobs was stopped early after Paxley was unable to continue. She is believed to have hit her face on the ring post after taking a kick to the head.
Paxley would later post, “Thank you everyone for reaching out and checking in! I’ll be ok! Accidents like these happen all the time in what we do. Plus getting blood everywhere is super heavy metal.”
Logan Paul is set to be the guest on Miz TV this coming Monday on Raw.
Additionally, a rematch for the Raw Women’s Championship has been announced, with Bianca Belair defending against Carmella.
It was already announced that Paul would be on this Monday’s show. Paul appeared in a series of videos during Raw on Monday saying that he wanted a match against The Miz at SummerSlam, insisting he wanted to confront Miz after his attack at WrestleMania 38. Miz on Raw rejected Paul’s claims, saying Paul was just trying to get attention and still went with the idea that he and Paul should reunite as a team.
Carmella defeated Bianca Belair last week on Raw via countout after Becky Lynch distracted Belair on the outside. In the ring, Carmella celebrated with the title, thinking she had won it. Belair then laid her out.
Set for Raw this coming Monday:
Raw Women’s title: Bianca Belair defends against Carmella
A Women’s Championship rematch is set to take place on tonight’s episode of Raw.
WWE has announced that Bianca Belair will defend her Raw Women’s Championship against Carmella on Raw tonight. It’s a rematch from Money in the Bank, where Belair retained her title but was then attacked by Carmella after the match.
Belair and new SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan teamed together to defeat Carmella & Natalya on Raw last week. The match was made after Belair saved Morgan from a beatdown by Carmella and Natalya.
Rey Mysterio vs. Finn Balor has also been announced for tonight’s Raw. In the Mysterios’ hometown of San Diego, Rey & Dominik Mysterio defeated Balor & Damian Priest by disqualification last Monday. Rey took a page out of the late Eddie Guerrero’s playbook by faking that he had been hit with a chair by Balor.
Balor and Priest attacked Rey and Dominik backstage after their match last week.
This will be the first-ever one-on-one match between Rey and Balor.
Raw is being held in San Antonio, Texas tonight and will feature an appearance by Brock Lesnar. Lesnar is challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a Last Man Standing match at SummerSlam later this month.
A Bobby Lashley United States title open challenge and Riddle vs. Theory were previously announced for tonight’s Raw but are no longer being advertised on WWE.com.
Carmella has replaced Rhea Ripley in the Raw Women’s Title match for Money in the Bank.
Bianca Belair opened tonight’s Raw to announce that Rhea Ripley would not be medically cleared for Money in the Bank, and was out of the match as a result. Becky Lynch, Asuka, Carmella, Liv Morgan, and Alexa Bliss all came out to make their case regarding who should replace Ripley. This led to a five-way match. The finish had Bliss miss the twisted bliss after Morgan got her knees up. However, as he got up, Carmella hit a superkick to win the match.
Ripley hasn’t wrestled since the June 6 edition of Raw, where he defeated Bliss, Morgan, and Doudrop in a fatal four-way match to become the number one contender for the Raw Women’s title. As recently as last week, she had been on Raw promoting the match.
Here’s the updated lineup for Money in the Bank, which takes place July 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas:
Bianca Belair vs. Carmella for the Raw Women’s Championship
Theory vs. Bobby Lashley for the WWE United States title
Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match (Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, and Omos have qualified thus far)
Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match (Lacey Evans, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, and Liv Morgan have qualified thus far)
The Usos vs. The Street Profits for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship
Ronda Rousey vs. Natalya for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
On Twitter today, Carmella defended her husband Corey Graves over criticism he’s received for his commentary on Monday’s episode of Raw.
Graves addressed Sasha Banks and Naomi walking out of Raw last night by saying on commentary that they “summarily and unprofessionally left the arena.” The line sounded like something that may have been fed to Graves, and Carmella indicated that was the case while responding to someone on Twitter.
“Imagine still living in a world where you think he just says whatever he wants,” Carmella wrote. “He does his job. Period.”
Imagine still living in a world where you think he just says whatever he wants. He does his job. Period.
Banks and Naomi were scheduled to take part in a number one contender’s six-pack challenge in the main event of Monday’s Raw, but they left the arena during the show due to issues with the creative direction. The six-pack challenge was scrapped and a singles match where Asuka defeated Becky Lynch instead took place.
Naomi was scheduled to win the six-pack challenge before she and Banks walked out.
WWE issued the following statement on the situation:
When Sasha Banks and Naomi arrived at the arena this afternoon, they were informed of their participation in the main event of tonight’s Monday Night Raw.
During the broadcast, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out.
They claimed they weren’t respected enough as tag team champions. And even though they had eight hours to rehearse and construct their match, they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents even though they’d had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence. Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show, whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract.
We regret we were unable to deliver, as advertised, tonight’s main event.
Carmella (Leah Van Dale), 34, and Graves (Matthew Polinsky), 38, announced their engagement last October. The two began dating in 2019.
AEW’s Jon Moxley, Renee Paquette, WWE’s Natalya, TJ Wilson, Tamina, Bayley, Liv Morgan, Sonya Deville, Happy Corbin, and referee Jason Ayers are among the wrestling notables pictured in photos from the event.
Carmella and Graves’ relationship has been incorporated into recent WWE storylines, tying into the release of their Corey & Carmella YouTube series. The two also host the Bare With Us podcast.
Graves has been with WWE since signing a developmental deal in 2011. Graves and Adrian Neville held the NXT Tag Team titles in 2013. He transitioned to a commentary role in 2014 after being medically disqualified from in-ring work, although he has since been cleared for an in-ring return, though he says that one is not imminent. He also briefly held the WWE 24/7 title in 2021.
Carmella signed with WWE in 2013. After a run in NXT, she was called up to the SmackDown brand in 2016. She has since held the Money in the Bank briefcase, the SmackDown Women’s Championship, WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, won Season 2 of WWE Mixed Match Challenge, and has held the 24/7 Championship twice.
