Former WWE on-air talent Charly Caruso (Charly Arnolt) recently spoke with Scott Fishman of TV Insider and said “nothing bad happened” in the lead-up to her WWE departure.
As noted, ESPN announced this week that Caruso has accepted a full-time position with the network, as part of a multi-year contract extension. She later confirmed her WWE departure in a post on Instagram. This came days after backstage reports on Caruso picking up heat within the company over being late to interviews with wrestlers at RAW tapings. The reports noted that she had been removed from WWE TV, and that her contract was expiring.
Caruso was asked about the online speculation surrounding her exit and what she made of it. She said she never had any issues while with WWE, and she left on a positive note.
“There is always going to be chatter,” Caruso said. “The contract was coming up. Instead of renewing, I’m moving on. Everyone is going to have their own opinions regardless. I never had any issues while I was at WWE.
“Nothing bad happened. As far as I’m concerned, I’m leaving on a positive note and beginning what I believe to be the next step in my career.”
Caruso also recalled how she had some difficult days trying to juggle both gigs. She first started working part-time with ESPN last fall. She was asked what her schedule was like with doing both WWE and ESPN.
“It was difficult,” she said. “There were days where I would host First Take and go straight to Raw. Those were long days. I was waking up at 6 a.m. doing hair and makeup, getting the show prepared, filming. The turnaround even included getting on a plane to travel wherever I needed to be for Raw.
“I like to be challenged. It’s what drives me to be the best version of myself. So those were my favorite days. I loved pulling double duty.”
Regarding her WWE career, Caruso said her best memory was the recent RAW storyline with Angel Garza and Zelina Vega. She named this when asked if there’s one thing she is most proud of.
“My best memory was this past year when I was involved in the storyline with Zelina Vega and Angel Garza,” she answered. “That was the most involved in a storyline I’ve ever been. It was fun and different from what I was doing on a weekly basis.
“I loved that I was able to do a little bit of acting rather than just asking questions. I wish it could have been taken further than it was. WWE went in a different direction, but I had a blast before it ended.”
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