Charly Caruso Biography

In the WWE universe, it’s the big superstars that usually dominate the headlines. It’s understandable because the show revolves around them. Charly Caruso is part of the WWE Universe, but you won’t find her sweating it out on the ring against an opponent. However, Caruso has more fans that some of the superstars on the roster.

Caruso’s place is usually backstage, conducting interviews with the wrestlers. She is a huge favorite with the fans, and she is considered an invaluable member of the WWE universe. This piece will look at Caruso’s family, her career, and why she can’t seem to find love in New York.

She had a tough start as a journalist

Charly Arnolt (Caruso is her stage name) was born on 14th July 1987 in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was mostly raised by her mom, and according to Caruso, she is one of her biggest inspirations. Both of her parents were around, but her mom did most of the parenting. Charly’s parents had a strained relationship, and they ended up divorcing during her sophomore year in college.

After graduating from North Central High School, Caruso moved to DC to study at the American University. Caruso interned tirelessly during her time at university because she wanted to fill her resume with work experience before she got out of college. Her work took her all around America to cities such as Houston & Miami. She eventually graduated in 2010 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

After graduation, Charly moved to West Virginia to work with WSAZ-TV. Caruso’s time in West Virginia was tough at best. She had to work without a crew in some very unsafe areas. Caruso was also asked to cover stories that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with.

Charly found her passion in sports journalism

Caruso stayed in West Virginia for 8 months before moving to Kansas to work with WDAF-TV. Charly was more comfortable in Kansas because she had a crew, and she worked on the Morning Live segment. However, from time to time, she had to cover some nasty stories. She explained in an episode of Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia;

“Even though we were covering like some kind of crazy situations like SWAT scenes and double homicides, at least I was with someone and surrounded by other people. It’s funny because I wanted to be a crime reporter from the very beginning. That was initially what I saw me doing in my career, and I minored in criminal justice… So I thought that that was what I wanted to do…”

Charly spent two years in Kansas, and she learned that crime journalism wasn’t for her. Caruso reevaluated and decided to try out entertainment journalism. She eventually found a sports journalism job that took her back to Indianapolis. Caruso found her passion and happiness in sports journalism. She continued;

“That’s where I got to start doing sports and I was like, ‘This is it. I love this.’ It’s like the worst thing that happens is your team loses, but guess what? You play again next week, and people are watching you to be entertained, and they are watching you to smile, not to, you know, find out all the, you know, terrible things that are happening in your neighborhood.”

She landed her WWE job after attending a SmackDown event in Indianapolis

When Caruso was young, she used to sneak into their home basement to watch weekly episodes of WWF. Caruso’s parents were against her watching wrestling, and she had to watch the show in secret.

Her love for the show continued into adulthood, and in 2016, her close friend, Tony Khan, offered her a backstage ticket to a SmackDown event in Indianapolis. Caruso accepted the invitation, and at the show, she shared her resume with the WWE Senior Director of Talent Relations Mark Carrano.

Caruso had several projects going on at the time, but she didn’t really know where her career was headed. After a couple of months, Carrano connected her with Monday Night Raw commentator Michael Cole. Michael saw Charly’s talent, but there was no job opening for her.

However, when Brandi Rhodes left WWE in 2016, an opportunity to work in the WWE presented itself. Caruso auditioned for the role, and she got it. At the time, Caruso had accepted a sports anchor position in Washington. However, after consulting her friends and agent, Caruso picked the WWE.

Caruso debuted as a ring announcer for NXT, and after a short while, she joined the main roster. According to Caruso, she made the right decision, but the job has its downsides. She continued;

“It’s been such a great platform, and getting to meet all different types of people and have this amazing experience on an international platform and travelling… Sometimes your just like, ‘I just wanna sleep in my bed,’ but, I mean, like any job, you take the good with the bad. Traveling’s not bad, but it does get to be a lot sometimes.”

Some fans thought that Charly would leave WWE for ESPN

Charly quickly became a fan favorite on WWE, and some of her fans were concerned when she accepted a journalism job for ESPN. Caruso explained via a post on Instagram that she wasn’t leaving;

“So yep, here I am – officially an ESPN employee! (No, I am NOT leaving WWE! That’s still my home and I am so happy there!). I’ll be doing a few things at ESPN from time to time for now, including SportsCenter on Snapchat show. I’m still in disbelief. WWE + ESPN = KILLER COMBO! I am so incredibly appreciative and fortunate for both of these wonderful opportunities.”

Charly told Lilian Garcia that her jobs at ESPN and WWE made her schedule pretty hectic, but with the help of her employers, she found a way to make it work.

She is a fitness fanatic

Caruso was always super competitive and active from a very young age. At the age of 5, she started gymnastics training. Her gymnastics career ended at the age of 13 after suffering a terrible accident. The accident caused her to temporarily lose feeling in her extremities, and she decided to quit. Caruso went on to play volleyball and softball in high school.

After landing her job with the WWE, Caruso re-found her passion in fitness. She adopted a training regimen that also included powerlifting. Caruso has a great body, and she even participated in Ms. Health and Fitness 2019. She didn’t win the competition, but she was grateful to the fans who supported and voted for her.

Caruso’s venture into fitness has also opened business opportunities for her. For instance, Caruso promotes MotiveCBD products. Caruso talked to the Miami Herald about her training regimen, and how CBD helps her;

“So I frequently run into sore muscles, achy joints. My body usually hurts. So for me, CBD helps me to recover. It helps me to mentally unwind as well, because of my lifestyle is so incredibly hectic that sometimes it’s hard for me to shut it down. CBD helps me to do that.”

She finds it hard to date in New York

Caruso travels around a lot, but she sees New York as her home. She feels at home in The Big Apple, but she is yet to find a partner. Caruso has found it tough to date in the era of social media. She also thinks that people in New York are just too busy to date, herself included. Caruso told Lilian Garcia;

“I think a lot of people in these places, we’re all so focused on ourselves, we’re career driven, we’re trying to get to where we wanna be so relationships take a back seat. Whereas in middle America people are used to settling down at earlier ages… In these big cities like New York and LA, you see people settling down much later.”

Charly also finds it hard to date in her line of work. Most men that she dates end up being insecure about the people that she’s around. On the other hand, Charly understands that she also has flaws that she needs to work on to find her perfect partner.