Carmella Leah Van Dale ( October 23 , 1987 ) is an American cheerleader , dancer , fitness trainer , model , professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager currently signed to WWE under the ring name Carmella , performing on the " SmackDown " brand . In June 2013 , Van Dale signed a contract with WWE , and was assigned to their Performance Center in Orlando , Florida . In October 2014 , she aligned herself with Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady , thus also becoming their manager . Early life . Leah grew up in a very small town outside of Worcester , Massachusetts . She began dancing at the age of three . After graduating high school , Leah went on to the University of Rhode Island and later transferred to the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth where she graduated with her bachelor ' s degree in Marketing . While she knew it was important to get an education , she continued her love of performing with the New England Patriots Cheerleaders . Throughout her three - year term with the Patriots she traveled all over the world . Throughout her time with the Patriots , Leah was featured in several world - renowned publications to include a National Visa commercial , Muscle and Fitness , Esquire , Maxim and many more . Her charity work was something she always enjoyed . She was fortunate enough to work with so many different charitable organizations and loved giving back to the community . Leah ' s three - year term with the Patriots was up in early 2010 . After graduating in May of the same year she knew she wanted to take her dancing career to another level . There ' s no better place for an entertainer than Los Angeles . On a whim , she decided to fly out to LA the day before the Back - to - Back Champion Lakers were holding auditions for their dance team . With over 600 girls in attendance , Leah danced her way to the final round . After a few trips back and forth between the east and west coast , she earned a coveted spot as a 2010 - 2011 Los Angeles Laker Girl . As a rookie , she was the cover girl of the 2011 Laker Girl Calendar . She was featured in numerous commercials , magazines , and game shows throughout her Laker Girl Career . Much like her time with Patriots , she loved working with charities . Fit For Life grew to be her favorite organization to work with . Seeing kids without any sense of healthy living , inspired her to show teach them everything she knew about being healthy and fitt . Leah grew up around the fitness industry , as her father was a semi - professional boxer and WWF wrestler in the 1990s . Professional wrestling career . World Wrestling Entertainment ( 2013 - Present ) . NXT ( 2013 - 2016 ) . In June 2013 , Van Dale signed a contract with WWE , and she was assigned to the company ' s developmental territory WWE NXT in late September . In December , she announced that her new ring name was Carmella . Carmella made her debut on the September 4 , 2014 , episode of " NXT " , portraying a hairdresser in a segment with Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady . Two weeks later on " NXT " , Carmella appeared in another segment with Amore and Cassady at the WWE Performance Center , announcing that she had lost her job as a hairdresser due to Amore and Cassady ' s actions , and asked for a job at NXT . She made her in - ring debut on the October 16 episode of " NXT " , fighting a local wrestler , whom Amore and Cassady dubbed Blue Pants . Carmella defeated Blue Pants on two occasions , while portraying a villainous character despite her alliance with Amore and Cassady , but lost to her on the January 1 , 2015 , episode of " NXT " after Amore accidentally caused a distraction . In March , Amore and Cassady began a rivalry with the NXT Tag Team Champions Blake and Murphy , while Blake and Murphy attempted to woo Carmella on several occasions , becoming an fan favorite in the process . On the May 13 episode of " NXT " , Blake and Murphy distracted Carmella during her match with Alexa Bliss , causing her to lose . A week later , at , Bliss attacked Carmella , during Amore and Cassady ' s title match , ensuring the win for Blake and Murphy . While continuing to manage Amore and Cassady , Carmella began feuding with Eva Marie , which led to a match between the two , on the August 26 episode of " NXT " ( taped at the event ) , which Carmella lost . On the September 23 episode of " NXT " , in a rematch , Carmella lost via count – out , and their rivalry quietly ended . In the beginning of January 2016 , Carmella received her first singles push as she won a battle royal to become the number one contender to Bayley ' s NXT Women ' s Championship . Carmella received her championship match against Bayley , on the February 10 episode of " NXT " , but she was unsuccessful in capturing the title . After the match , Eva Marie and Nia Jax attacked the two , which led to a tag team match , on the February 24 episode of " NXT " , where Carmella and Bayley were on the losing side . Carmella made her first appearance on WWE ' s main roster on March 12 at Roadblock , accompanying Amore and Cassady to their match against The Revival for the NXT Tag Team Championship . On the May 25 episode of " NXT " , Carmella competed in a triple – threat match against Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss to determine the number one contender to Asuka ' s NXT Women ' s Championship at , which was won by Jax . Main roster ( 2016 – present ) . On July 19 , Carmella was drafted to SmackDown as a part of the 2016 WWE Draft . Carmella made her main roster debut for the brand on July 26 , where she confronted the brand female talents before being interrupted by Eva Marie . Two weeks later , Carmella defeated Natalya on the August 9 episode of " SmackDown " , marking her first victory on the main roster . The following week , Carmella teamed with Becky Lynch in a successful victory against Natalya , and Alexa Bliss , after a distraction provided by Eva Marie , and Naomi . A six - woman tag team match was announced for SummerSlam between Carmella , Lynch , and Naomi against Natalya , Bliss , and Marie , but following Eva Marie ' s suspension on August 18 , her place was taken by the returning Nikki Bella , and Carmella ' s team would ultimately lose the match at the pay - per - view , which would be also her debut on one of them . On the August 23 episode of " SmackDown " , Carmella turned heel and attacked a returning Nikki Bella , canceling their scheduled singles match . Personal life . Currently , she is a certified group fitness instructor and personal trainer . Leah is the daughter of Paul Van Dale who worked for WWF / E during the 1990s .