Carmella Discusses Pressure She Felt To Have A Superstar Physique In WWE

In a world plagued with the pressure to be thin, Carmella admits she too once cracked under it. Long before her work as WWE Superstar, Carmella — real name Leah Van Dale — had a career in dance and cheerleading. 

Through her experience as a Laker Girl and a cheerleader for the New England Patriots, Carmella conformed to a certain set of regulations surrounding her appearance. With the pressure to maintain a specific physique, Carmella recently revealed she was “doing it more in an unhealthy way.”

“When I look back, I realize I was just so strict with my diet and restricted myself from eating anything and everything that wasn’t vegetables, fruit and lean meats,” the former “SmackDown” Women’s Champion told “Yahoo Life.” She said that upon entering WWE in 2013, her habits traveled with her.

The initial transition into professional wrestling prompted Carmella to push her body beyond its limits, often to the point of burnout, just to preserve her physique. “For a long time, I was always lifting heavy weights and tearing my body apart on the road with wrestling,” she said. “Then when I’m home, I’m lifting weights, and I was just feeling so weak, my body was hurting so much.”

Eventually, though, Carmella found ways to keep herself healthy, without the need for heavy dieting. “I don’t want to tell myself I can’t have something,” she explained. “I feel like now this is the best I’ve ever looked and the best I’ve ever felt because I just am doing what’s right for me and eating intuitively.”

Becky Lynch Opens Up About Past Issues With Her Body

WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch sat down with Muscle & Fitness to discuss how she kept in shape prior to and after giving birth to her daughter Roux this past December. Lynch credits many factors, from her normal training to living a healthier lifestyle while being off the road for over a year.

“So, I wonder if a lot of it is sleeping in my own bed every night, just because in WWE, we are on the go so much,” Lynch said. “We are on the road and we got to eat out, and so now, I get to sleep in my own bed. But you know, I stay in my own bed, and can cook, and do all of those things to live a healthier lifestyle that are more challenging on the road.

“I also just wonder if it’s running around as a busy mom, because I am training the same way as I’ve always trained, quite intense.”

Lynch also spoke about how self conscious she had been over the years about keeping in shape. She now feels she’s in a place where she appreciates her body more than ever.

“I just feel like I appreciate my body more,” Lynch said. “I go ‘well, you know what? I’ve created a life. This is great, this is great.’ I don’t really care how it looks any more, you know what I mean? If that makes sense? I’ve always had body issues, and I was always self conscious about showing my stomach off. And now, I’m just real proud of the function of it, of everything it can do. So I don’t know if it’s a mental thing that just turns into a physical thing. If that makes any sense?”

Chelsea Green Details Her Past Tryout For Playboy

Former WWE superstar Chelsea Green has spoken in the past about her many interests outside of pro wrestling, including her interest in posing for Playboy.

Recently on an episode of her new podcast, Green With Envy, Chelsea Green revealed that she had actually done a tryout for Playboy in Chicago back in the summer of 2010. Green described her experience from the tryout as ‘the best day ever’ and discussed her preparations for the event.

“I get changed into my outfit, I put my lip gloss on, I’ve got my eyeshadow, my skinny little eyebrows going on, and I have my heels on,” Green recalled. “I decided to go for a little hot, hot pink bra and undies set, and I thought I looked like the fucking cat’s meow. I was like, ‘There’s no way they won’t choose me.’

“You go in, there’s a couple of people sitting behind a desk with screens – they’re obviously looking at the shots as they come up… You go in and it’s a photoshoot, plain white backdrop. You basically tell them a little bit about yourselves, tell them what you like to do and why you love Playboy, and why you wanna do it and you pose.”

Green, who has also recently been in talks with Impact Wrestling, went on to discuss the quick photoshoot and recalled what outfit she picked for the day. She also said that during the photoshoot that she was not asked to pose naked, but that she wouldn’t have had any issues regardless.

“It was kind of a very normal casting call. I will say, I don’t believe I got fully naked – I did take my top off, obviously, but I don’t remember taking my underwear off,” remembered Green. “At the time, I was like 20 years old, whatever – I loved my boobs! I had zero issues with my body and I’ve played sports my whole life, so I was in shape and stuff even though I was eating Cheetos for lunch in college.”

While her first audition did not result in a deal with Playboy, Green revealed that she had recently been in touch with the company after an employee reached out to her on social media. She also discussed how Playboy has changed over the years, and how they want to grow their brand.

“I totally feel like we connected, he had such a great vibe about him, and he kinda enlightened me to what 2021 and future Playboy looks like – which is not the brick-and-mortar stuff,” Green noted. “‘It is the digital side things, and the influencing side of things, and blogging, vlogging, hosting, podcasting, all that kind of stuff that they didn’t have before that they want to expand Playboy into.”

Green went on to share her optimism for what the future holds for her. She noted that while she may not receive the opportunity to model for Playboy this year, that next year could be her big chance.

“I do feel really positive about the fact that in the future – and maybe it’s not in 2021, maybe it’s at the beginning of 2022, we’re not sure, but Chelsea Green might be the future of Playboy.”

Braun Strowman On Struggling With Body Dysmorphia

Braun Strowman recently spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated and talked about how he’s taken immense pride in tightening up his look over the past year, focused on presenting a leaner, healthier version of himself to the world.

Strowman noted that he’s always had issues with the way he looked. His weight jumped from 285 pounds to over 400 while he was actively competing in strongman competitions, but now he’s back down to 349 pounds.

“I hated the way I looked,” Strowman said. “I’ve always struggled with body dysmorphia. It’s still a tough battle, but I try to remind myself it’s a process and I have my whole life to work on this. I admire the work I’ve put into this to change my life for the better.

“I needed to make some changes in my life, and since I was given some extra time at home because of the pandemic, I wanted to do something positive with it. I worked with a nutritionist, I worked with a new trainer, and I revamped the way I ate and what I do at the gym. It’s a whole new lifestyle. It’s been really cool for my mentality, and the feedback from people around the world has been so inspiring. I’ve had mothers message me that they’ve changed the way they cook for their kids. Someone messaged me saying he lost 200 pounds after seeing my transformation. That’s very humbling. It’s been a learning process for me, and I am really enjoying the experience.”

Now weighing in at 394 pounds, Strowman said he’s much more confident with his in-ring work, and happier with his look.

“I’m finally listening to my body,” Strowman said. “I used to be so worried about just getting big. I was on path to do a bodybuilding show until I tore my meniscus back at Survivor Series last year, and that put a damper on my cardio. A lot of this is mental, and I’m working to give people the absolute best I can.”

Strowman credited his five-month run as WWE Universal Champion with helping him have a new confidence in the ring. Despite taking place with no live fans in the crowd, Strowman believes that stretch allowed him to elevate his in-ring storytelling and overall presence. He is confident that he is the best big man in the business, something he will swear on.

“This is a profession that takes time,” Strowman said. “I have less than six years on the main roster, and less than eight years in a wrestling ring. Working through the pandemic without a crowd, that was hard. It was so strange to have nobody there, hearing every breath you’d take. Looking back, that experience has made us better. We had to tighten up our game.

“I’m a big advocate of learning something new every day. That’s what happened for me in WWE. This is where I belong. I love learning more about adapting and entertaining. I’m my own worst critic, and I read more of the comments than I should, and I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but I know I’m good at this. I’m the best damn Braun Strowman, I’m the best big man in the world. I’ll swear on that. There ain’t nobody on this planet my size that can do what I can do, talk like I can talk and wrestle like I can wrestle. I’m going to continue with the mindset. Why would I think any less of myself?”

Strowman is set to compete in a Triple Threat with Drew McIntyre and WWE Champion Bobby Lashley at the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view on May 16.

Mandy Rose Mentions How She Almost Lost Her Brother During ‘SummerSlam’ Weekend Last Year

In a previous segment, Mandy Rose discussed with Lilian Garcia on her first appearance of Chasing Glory the struggles she faced when her parents divorced during her adolescence and the ripple effect that ensued with how she dealt with romantic relationships. In her second appearance of Chasing Glory this week, Garcia and Rose revisited that topic to see if she felt the same way and still had trouble maintaining healthy relationships. Now, Rose admits she is comfortable with being more vulnerable in her relationships and how she’s trying to instill that same technique towards her brothers.

“Yeah. I do,” Mandy Rose quickly replied. “But going back to even thinking about the interview we had, I am a little bit guarded, and I don’t usually like to show all my emotions; I remember telling you that too. After watching and listening to it, I was surprised by how comfortable I was to bring all of that up to the surface. I grew up with three older brothers. A lot [of our upbringing] was like, ‘Oh, put on your happy face, and you’ll be ok.’ Now looking back, it’s ok to show those emotions…I tell my brothers, ‘You gotta let your emotions out because if you bottle them up, you’ll explode.'”

After her long-time friend/tag partner turned bitter rival Sonya Deville cut her hair off on SmackDown, Rose started rocking a shorter bob hairstyle that fascinated fans from afar. In real life, Rose was ready to make that transformation from a pretty face to a more fierce competitor. She thought the first thing that would help with that alteration was to get rid of her long blonde locks.

“Well, for storyline purposes, obviously with Sonya cutting it, but I actually wanted a change,” she answered when asked by Garcia why she decided to cut her hair. “But I miss putting it in a messy bun.”

Going back to things discussed in their first interview, Rose confided in Garcia that she dealt with body insecurities following her bodybuilding career in 2013. Now, she has found a better appreciation for how she takes care of her body.

“I’m at a really good place, I think now. With bodybuilding, it sometimes can mess you up in the sense of getting your body to a certain point where you see yourself on stage, and you’re like, ‘Wow,’ but knowing that’s not an everyday lifestyle look, or whatever you want to call it,” she stated. “Right now, my biggest thing is that I don’t stress about it anymore. I eat well, and I work out a ton, but there are so many times where I don’t worry about what I’m eating. And I noticed that I’m happy with the way my body is.”

Despite the pressures she’s had with herself and maintaining a stunning presence in WWE, Rose admits that she finds it hard to be the rock in both her professional and personal life, especially after her parent’s divorce years ago. As mentioned above, it was Rose’s brothers who took their parent’s separation harder than she did. Because of the issues that came from her home life, one of her brothers happened to fall prey to the world of addiction. She recalls how she almost lost her cool at last year’s SummerSlam after finding out that her brother had overdosed on drugs and was in the hospital fighting for his life.

“My brother almost died SummerSlam weekend last year,” she mentioned. “This was on my mom’s birthday. Since then, it hasn’t been like that; it’s just still the alcohol, and, you know, he’s insecure over what happened. [I tell him] there’s only so much I can do. If you can’t improve yourself, I can’t sit here [and fix it]. It’s like that quote you said earlier about the anchor and how it just keeps taking you down, and everyone’s taking you down. For the last couple of years, I felt like that with my family. I’m like, ‘I can’t do this anymore. I just can’t. I do too much; it’s not fair.'”

With 2020 being her breakout year, Rose admits that while she was trying to celebrate all the gratifying moments that were happening for her at work, her personal life was overshadowing that enjoyment.

“You know, I was. I tried to focus on what was going on in the moment because we knew this wasn’t going to last, but there was so much going on in my house,” she admitted. “I do a lot of stuff for my dad because he’s done a lot for me and my brothers. But he’s 63, and he’s still working on his feet every day. He’s keeping the deli for his sons to have just in case, you know. My dad is the most generous and selfless man, but I do a lot to try and help him. I realize I’m doing a lot for them, but then I think, ‘Well, who’s doing this for me?’ I don’t need help. But, like, being asked how I’m doing and that support would be nice.”

Tay Conti Says She Underwent Therapy In Order To Wear Her In-Ring Outfit

Tay Conti, one of the rising stars in AEW’s women’s division, took to Twitter on Tuesday to explain why she is trying to overcome her “mental insecurity” when it comes to wrestling without long sleeves and with low waist shorts.

While stressing that she does not feel the same way while posing for bikini pics, Conti revealed she underwent therapy to feel good in her own skin and wear revealing outfits inside the squared circle.

“I know I always post bikini pics but being in the ring without long sleeves and with low waist shorts was a challenge. A mental insecurity that almost nobody believes I have it but yes I do. After a good amount of therapy and mind work, I did it. We all should feel good in our own skin,” she wrote on Twitter.

The Brazilian was in action earlier on Tuesday during an episode of AEW Dark, defeating Red Velvet with an unorthodox choke submission hold.

Conti, who signed a contract with AEW earlier this month, has a black belt in judo and a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. She spent four years in WWE until she was released back in April as part of the company-wide cuts brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beth Phoenix On Which WWE Star She Still Wants To Have A Match Against

WWE Hall of Famer and NXT announcer, Beth Phoenix, dropped by on this week’s episode of The Bump’s to celebrate the fifth-year anniversary of the Women’s Evolution, something that she had a big part in creating. In her career, Phoenix has risen above many challenging obstacles only to come out stronger.

Even though she looks like nothing can defeat her, she opened up about her insecurities with her body and how for a long time, she felt like the odd woman out because her body didn’t fit a certain mold in WWE. Now, she embraces her diversity and feels empowered to inspire other women in and out of this industry to embrace themselves as well.

“I’ve gotten amazing responses from friends and fans. I usually don’t put a ton of super personal stuff on social media,” Phoenix informed. “With the Women’s Evolution week, I wanted to share a little bit of my story. I was a bit of an insecure young person. When I first started in the business, I didn’t feel like I fit the mold.

“So it’s taken a long time and realization, but the Women’s Evolution has been putting that image forward that you don’t have to fit just one shape. I’m happy to see that message is being presented to young people because I have two young daughters, and I want them to see diversity so they’re okay with who they are.”

After having some in-ring matches here and there this past year, Phoenix says that she would love to go toe-to-toe against “The Queen” Charlotte Flair.

“Oh my gosh, it was great to get my hands on the newest generation,” she chuckled. “It would be awesome to have a match with Charlotte Flair. I see a lot of similarities in our physicality. I think she and I could tell a great story.”

Before making her huge return in the Women’s Royal Rumble, Phoenix thought her role that night was only to be on commentary. She wasn’t informed that she was going to be competing in the ring until the week before the big event. She says if it weren’t for her husband Edge, she probably would have passed on the offer.

“I got the news that they were going to invite me to participate in the Women’s Royal Rumble six days before [the show]. Up until that point, I thought I was just going to be there to announce,” she stated. “Then, I got that call saying, ‘Hey Beth, do you want to be in it?’ At that time, my mind and energy was being poured into my announce work and family life.

“We [Edge and I] had the conversation of, ‘Do I do this, or do I say no?’ We thought this could never happen again; this could be the last time I lace up the boots, who knows. I said, ‘I gotta go for it.’ He also said too, ‘You gotta go for it. You have to do this.'”

In 1999, Chyna became the first woman to ever compete in a Men’s Royal Rumble. Fast forward to 2010, Phoenix becomes the second woman to compete in the same event. Before accomplishing that historic accolade, Phoenix says that Chyna was a pivotal motivation in her career and an inspiration towards her “Glamazon” gimmick.

“Watching this back, it chokes me up a bit. As a young woman, I obviously, by my ring gear, looked up to Chyna,” she said with a big smile. “She was the reason I walked into a gym and started picking up weights. To me, the fact that I had that opportunity to fill that role and fulfill those same steps as she did was great.

Phoenix, like many of the front runners in the Women’s Evolution, never thought that her contributions would inspire a whole new generation of female Superstars. Before she ended her interview, she took a moment to say that she is so proud to see how far these women have come compared to when she first started.

“It’s been full transparency,” she replied. “There were times when I was working for WWE and I was blessed that I got pay-per-view matches, but where we struggled a lot was on television time. We didn’t get a lot of television time. When we did get it, it wasn’t necessarily the matches that I knew we could have. In my heart and soul, what I saw Chyna do, what I saw Trish [Stratus] do, those women contributed to this road and this path that has brought us to today, now.

“I’m so proud to see that they’re getting the ‘firsts’ done, so now, we can see the men and women equally. It gives me a sense of pride.”

Alexa Bliss Talks WWE Taping During Coronavirus Pandemic, Why She Wrestles In A T-Shirt

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Alexa Bliss spoke with Sports Illustrated to help promote WWE’s new Fight Like A Girl series where WWE Stars are paired with a woman for a 10-week training session towards physical and mental improvement. Bliss has been very open about her mental and body image illnesses, noting it’s something she still has to battle each day.

“I take it day-by-day,” Bliss said. “Dealing with eating disorders, anxiety, and depression, I’m no stranger to mental illness. Every few years, I deal with a really bad spell of depression. You have to know it doesn’t have to overtake your life. Mental illness can dictate someone’s entire life. I put myself in a position to be in the public eye, but I’m doing what I love. I’ve gone to therapy, I’ve done everything I can do to get my brain in a healthy place.”

Bliss noted that she prefers to wear a t-shirt when she wrestles, partly due to being self-conscious, but also to get her merchandise some more TV time.

“There are some things I still do — I still wear my t-shirt when I wrestle,” Bliss stated. “One, it’s to promote merch because I think it’s cute, and two, because I’m always going to be that self-conscious person. But I don’t let it dictate my life like I used to.”

Switching gears a bit, Bliss was asked about WWE’s decision to move forward with shows, despite the current cornavirus pandemic that has shut down most sports and brought the world to almost a complete halt.

“If we can help people escape reality for a couple minutes, then it’s worth it,” Bliss said. “It’s a very unfortunate situation going on right now in the world, so I’m trying to stay positive. WWE is taking all the precautions to make sure everyone at our shows is safe. For me, it’s also nice that I can spend time at home with my family and my animals. That’s my positive way of looking at it.”

Bliss and Nikki Cross won the tag titles earlier this month at WrestleMania 36 against The Kabuki Warriors.

Alexa Bliss On If She Has Had Plastic Surgery

Alexa Bliss recently responded to a fan who suggested that she has had plastic surgery work done.

The former RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion had posted a throwback photo, and a fan wrote that she “didn’t have plastic surgeries then”. Bliss retorted by tweeting, “The only plastic surgery I’ve had is my boobs… 4x lol #JustBeingHonest”.

Bliss has been open when discussing getting breast implants. She has also posted bikini selfies in the past that resulted in some fans highlighting the procedures. Bliss would respond to some of the comments with replies like, “old news…”.

Bliss grew up dealing with eating disorders to the point where she was 85 pounds. On an episode of WWE 365 last year, Bliss discussed getting the implants when she was 17.

“There’s a lot of rumors about it like, ‘Oh did Alex Bliss get implants?’ I’ve had implants since I was seventeen,” Bliss said. “I’m very open and honest about it. When I had my eating disorder I got down to eighty-five pounds. My doctor told my mom said if [I] don’t get admitted I will die. They treated my health symptoms, they didn’t treat the mental side of it.

“The second time I was hospitalized they treated it like a mental disorder and a mental illness and that’s actually when it started getting better. So, I was very self-conscience about my body and the fact that I felt like I looked like a seven year old boy. There are studies that show [implants] helps women recover from eating disorders because they feel more womanly and they feel better about their bodies and their self image. All the doctors in on this one procedure were my pediatrician, my eating disorder doctor, my psychologist, my psychiatrist. I will never regret doing that for myself because it helped me get over my eating disorder and my body image issues.”

Kelly Kelly On How She Was Discovered By WWE, Retiring From Pro Wrestling At 25

After the passing of her father a year ago, Kelly Kelly spoke with Lilian Garcia on her podcast Chasing Glory about her relationship with her dad and how the two bonded through their love of pro wrestling. 

“When I was in my early teenage years, I loved watching wrestling and he loved it too,” Kelly said. “We would watch it together. That was what we would do together, it was our thing. I remember my mom would walk in and be like ‘Ugh, don’t watch that, it’s too violent.’ Whenever she wasn’t around, we’d watch it.”

Kelly adds that her father was extremely excited when she got the call from the WWE to join their roster at the age of 19.

“It’s so crazy how it all happened too [about being asked to join the WWE],” Kelly began. “When I got the phone call about them being interested in hiring me, my dad was like ‘Yes! You have to do it.’ I mean all of my family was proud, but I thought it was cool since that was our thing.”

Kelly was officially hired on to the WWE in 2006. Prior to being a valet, referee, ring announcer then wrestler, she was a full-time model and was discovered from her bikini shoots in a catalog.

“John Laurinaitis was friends with the guy who was running the catalog,” Kelly stated. “He (Laurinaitis) said I need some beautiful models, but we want them to be athletic as well. So, he (the owner of the catalog) said I’ll send you some of the pictures of the girls that I manage. He sent over pictures of me and Alicia Fox and we both got hired. They [WWE] liked us and we moved to Louisville.”

During her time with the WWE, Kelly never thought about changing her personal appearance with cosmetic surgery. Though others found her to be just another blond in the wrestling business, she was happy with her appearance and instead focused on trying to bring body positivity to those she worked with and the female fans who watched her.

“I feel like for me coming into the WWE at such a young age, I never felt the need to get breast implants or change my body,” Kelly addressed. “I’ve always been very comfortable with my body…You either like my look or you don’t. I’m not going to change it for anyone. I remember some would say ‘Oh, you’re just a blond, you look like the all-American,’ and I’m like that’s my look. 

“I’m very lucky and blessed that I haven’t taken the whole social media with body influences seriously. So many girls get impacted, especially with the body image stuff and it’s so sad. I think we’re definitely coming up [with celebrating body differences and feeling comfortable about it].” 

At the age of 25, Kelly retired from in-ring action, but participated in a few promotions here and there throughout the years. Kelly says the hardest thing for her retiring at such a young age was trying to find what other activities she could join in on and keeping a successful career going. 

“I never got to grow up really,” Kelly stated. “When I retired, I was 25. I was in a relationship and he was on the road, since he played hockey, and I was like what do I do with my life? What do I want to do? I became like a housewife. I was cooking and I was taking care of his two daughters. It was fulfilling, but I needed something for me. Luckily WAGS (the television shown on E!) came, and that really helped me transition. I wouldn’t have known what to do if it wasn’t for that show, because I was so bored.”

Kelly was very happy to be part of WAGS and thought that being on the show was an entertaining experience, even though, the show focused on housewives and the drama that can unfold.

“I enjoyed it,” Kelly exclaimed. “It let me get out that entertainment bug that I had in wrestling. I was able to channel that into WAGS. I had a lot of fun with it.”

Garcia followed it up by discussing the downside of being on a reality television show. Kelly mentioned that it was hard when she was going through her separation and how the cameras were constantly rolling.

“When I was going through my separation, the cameras were still rolling,” Kelly answered. “I wish that hadn’t been on the cameras, but, it was my real life and it was going on. They’re filming stuff and we’re in the midst of arguing and I can’t shut that off. I was like I’m just going to have to let it roll. I tried for a good 45 minutes as they were shooting a scene and I was like I can’t do it. I was like sorry guys because they were seeing what was really going on.”