Carmella Wasn't Medically Cleared Following WWE Royal Rumble 2021

Back at the Royal Rumble, Carmella challenged Sasha Banks for the SmackDown Women's Championship once again. The two women had their second widely-praised match at the pay-per-view, but Carmella had a nasty landing at one point after she connected with a Suicide Dive. The Staten Island Princess ending up kicking herself in the back of the head after hitting the move and while she would compete in the Women's Royal Rumble later in the night, she wouldn't get back in the ring after that until April 2. 

Carmella has since revealed on The Bellas Podcast that she "jacked" her back up during the Suicide Dive and she wasn't medically cleared to compete following the Rumble. 

"For people that don't work here, it's hard to explain. Because of course, I'm grateful I have a job. I'm grateful that I'm working for this amazing company. Last summer, I was off TV for four or five months, twiddling my thumbs. There was no rhyme or reason for why I was at home. I was just told we're going to wait to bring you back and do a different story. Then, I kind of revamped my character a little bit. Which is cool, it's nice to get a new coat of paint," Carmella said.

"Then I came back and had this awesome story with Sasha. I felt like I totally delivered. We had great matches, great promos. I just felt very happy. I felt like I proved myself and then it's like nothing. So, there's really no reason. Well, I actually was not cleared for a little while after our match at the Royal Rumble. I dove out of the ring... and I just kind of jacked my back up. So, I wasn't cleared for physicality, but I could still be in a storyline but it just didn't work out and I just kind of sat around after having what I thought was a great feud. You know, you just have to wait your turn. The world keeps turning. It does suck because then you sit here and question, 'Well, did I not do as well as I could have? What can I change? What can I do better?' But you have to realise it's not anything that you're doing."

Since returning to TV, Carmella has been on the fringes of SmackDown but she did compete in the Tag Team Turmoil match at WrestleMania 37 alongside Billie Kay. 

H/T to Fightful