Carmella Reveals Her Reaction To James Ellsworth Grabbing The MITB Briefcase Last Year
WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Carmella spoke with Inside the Ropes on her WrestleMania 33 match, winning the MITB case with James Ellsworth's help, and going up against Asuka at WWE Money in the Bank.
The champion was asked to go back and talk about WrestleMania 33 when the SmackDown Women's Championship Six-Pack Challenge Match was moved to the Kickoff and – thanks to the fans – was moved back to the main card. Carmella appreciated the fans' passion, but ultimately didn't see much of a difference between being on the Kickoff or the main card.
"I'm on WrestleMania! I don't care if I'm on the Kickoff show, it was just such a great opportunity to be a part of WrestleMania," Carmella said. "It was my very first WrestleMania, and a lot of people say, 'Oh, but you're on the Kickoff' it doesn't matter, you're still a part of WrestleMania. To me, there's no difference if you're on the Kickoff or the main show to me it's all the same. Of course, the fans were in kind of an uproar when we were announced as the Kickoff, so it's crazy the passion that they have."
Moving to last year's first-ever Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match, Carmella was asked what she thought of James Ellsworth being the first to get the case and then dropping it down to her. Not one to shy away from controversy, Carmella thought it was better way to get people talking, instead of doing the same old thing.
"I was nervous for the match, regardless, it's a dangerous, high-risk match to even be a part of," Carmella said. "Aside from that, when I knew that was going to happen [Laughs] the fans reacted exactly how I expected them to. They were upset, and honestly, I thought it was great. People were talking about it. You had this first Money in the Bank Ladder Match for the women and it could be a regular [match], someone climbs to the top, grabs the contract, and that's how it goes. But I thought this way was so much more exciting and so much more controversial. Everything I like to do is over the top and have people talking about it. Ever since I won that match that's exactly what's happened with my career. Everyone has been talking about me, whether they love me, whether they hate me, whether they love to hate me, I don't really care, they're talking about me."
At tonight's Money in the Bank PPV, Carmella will have to defend her title against Asuka. The champion plans to prove a lot of people wrong and retain her title.
"I'm not gonna lie. When I first found out I was like, 'Wait a minute? She did nothing to deserve this opportunity,' but Asuka is a force to be reckoned with, she is one of the most elite female Superstars I've ever seen in WWE," Carmella admitted. "Her strikes, her kicks, her submissions, she's so good, but she lost to Charlotte at WrestleMania, and I beat Charlotte Flair, twice, so that pretty much means I can beat Asuka. So, I know everybody is looking at the situation like I'm going to get my butt kicked and I'm going to drop the title immediately to Asuka, but I can't wait to prove everybody wrong."
You can check out Carmella's full comments in the video above.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Inside the Ropes with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.