Carmella explains why she was "rocked" by WWE releasing popular duo

A promising partnership between Carmella and Billie Kay was seemingly blooming before the latter's WWE release earlier this month.

Carmella looked set to ditch the "sexy" persona for the chance to let her personality shine through on WWE TV after a lack of appearances.

However, Kay, along with nine other stars, were let go on April 15. The date marked exactly one year after WWE parted ways with several other names due to "budget cuts" during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I had so much fun catching up with my girls! Thanks @BellaTwins for having me!! 🥂https://t.co/p1tJZOnPEA pic.twitter.com/F1TLpKnR5g

— Leah Van Dale (@CarmellaWWE) April 28, 2021

Speaking on The Bellas Podcast, Carmella told Brie and Nikki Bella that she was excited to start a new gimmick alongside Billie Kay following WrestleMania 37.

“I don't know what the right or wrong things to say is," Carmella said. "All I can speak from is my experience and we were super excited for this story and I felt like, 'Okay, I'm done with this whole sexy gimmick that they want me to do, which is fine.' It's fun to be sexy, but I feel like I wanted to show my personality more. I wanted to show a little bit more of a fun side."

Alongside Kay's departure, WWE's release of the other half of The IIconics, Peyton Royce, also hit a nerve with Carmella.

"I was looking forward to doing that with Billie. Like you said, our entrance alone, she was cracking me up," Carmella added. "So I was really looking forward to seeing where that was going to go and unfortunately, we can't do that anymore. Even Peyton, those two were some of my closest friends since they got here. So it was the first time I was really rocked by a release.” (H/T Fightful)

WWE has come to terms on the release of Billie Kay and Mickie James.We wish Billie and Mickie the best in all of their future endeavors.https://t.co/59Ea2hXLZt

— WWE (@WWE) April 15, 2021

Billie Kay and Peyton Royce were among several WWE releases

Mickie James and Chelsea Green joined Billie Kay and Peyton Royce from the women's division released by WWE earlier this month.

Samoa Joe headlined the list of male stars, including Kalisto, Tucker, Mojo Rawley, Bo Dallas, and Wesley Blake.

While she won't be prompting smiles from the WWE Universe in the near future, Billie Kay is destined to shine wherever she ends up. Once her 90-day non-compete clause expires, expect further entertainment from the excitable Aussie.

Were you excited about Carmella and Billie Kay's prospective partnership? Did the latter's WWE release rock you as much as 'Mella? Sound off in the comments section below.