“It’s a boy!”
Congratulations are in order for one of many WWE couples.
On Friday afternoon, former WWE Superstar Leah Van Dale, better known to pro wrestling fans as former women’s champion Carmella, surfaced via social media with an exciting personal announcement.
Carmella took to her official Instagram page today to share a photo and a brief statement to introduce her newborn baby boy to the world.
“Bram Julian Polinsky,” she revealed the baby boy’s name to be. “You’ve changed my life forever, baby boy.”
The little bundle of joy marks the second child together for Carmella and her husband, WWE, NXT and part-time AAA color-commentator Corey Graves.
Carmella last competed in a WWE ring in March 2023. Her return at that time lasted only around six weeks before she was once again sidelined. Prior to that brief comeback, she had been out of action since 2022.
During her time away from the ring, Carmella faced several personal and health-related challenges. Most notably, she and her husband, WWE NXT commentator Corey Graves (real name Matt Polinsky), welcomed their first child together. Additionally, she revealed she had been battling a condition known as drop foot, which can significantly impact mobility and athletic performance.
Carmella originally signed with WWE in 2013 and gained popularity through her work in NXT before transitioning to the main roster. Over the years, she captured multiple accolades, including the first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank victory in 2017, which led to her SmackDown Women’s Championship reign. She also won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship and was known for her charisma, mic skills, and in-ring ability.
In February, Carmella’s contract with WWE expired, officially ended her multi-year run with the promotion.
During a chat on Instagram Live, Carmella told Bayley back in December that she has been getting physical therapy and going to the chiropractor to try and recover from drop foot, the condition that ultimately led to her retiring from WWE.
“I love being a mom,” she said. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done ever, in my whole entire life,” she said. “That being said, of course I miss WWE. Of course, I miss everyone. I miss being Carmella. I miss performing. I miss it so much. I wish I had an update for you guys.”
She added, “For those that don’t know I have some nerve damage in my foot from delivering Dimitri. I have what’s called drop foot. It’s this nerve behind your knee. It sucks. I wrestled for ten to twelve years, never had an injury, knock on wood, and now I’m doing physical therapy, going to the chiropractor, getting MRIs, and doing all this stuff that I never thought I would be doing, but here we are. Hopefully, eventually, nerves do take a lot of time to heal, but eventually, we’ll get back to it.”
