Former WWE star reveals "very unexpected" events that led to her making UFC history
WWE and UFC became official partners last year after Endeavor merged the two companies to form TKO Group Holdings. While crossover promotion is planned between the two companies, sometimes it is not intentional, as we saw this past weekend.
Charly Arnolt, fka Charly Caruso, worked for World Wrestling Entertainment as an on-air talent from June 2016 till 2021. The backstage interviewer decided not to renew her contract with the company. She had been working part-time with ESPN since 2018 and went to work for the network full-time following her WWE departure. She began working UFC shows in the Summer of 2022 and made UFC history as the first female ring announcer at UFC Vegas 91 on Saturday.
Arnolt made UFC history by replacing regular announcer Joe Martinez when he became ill. He worked the first part of the show and later returned to do the main event. Charly took to Instagram this week to reveal the story behind her historic UFC appearance, as seen below.
"As promised, the story behind last night’s wild—and very unexpected—turn of events! [flushed face emoji] Looking back, all I have to say is THANK YOU to everyone for the support and confidence. Truly a night I will always remember! #ufc #history #thankyou," Charly Caruso wrote as the caption to the video below.
She was asked to fill in when Joe became ill, and his voice started to go out. UFC production officials approached Arnolt about temporary filling in, and she initially declined the offer as she was nervous and did not want to mess up on ESPN. However, the 36-year-old agreed to give it a shot.
In addition to her ESPN and UFC duties, Charly works as a TV host for OutKick and an on-air contributor for FOX News.
Former WWE on-air talent interested in AEW
Charly Arnolt, aka Charly Caruso, left World Wrestling Entertainment in 2021 to work for ESPN full-time and has been away from pro wrestling for the most part.
Arnolt joined the Stamford-based company in 2016. She was hired after friend Tony Khan invited her to visit backstage at a SmackDown in Jacksonville, Florida, where The Khan Family owns the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. That night, a meeting with an official led to WWE hiring the on-air talent.
Shortly after leaving the sports entertainment juggernaut in 2021, Charly spoke with Jim Varsallone of The Miami Herald and was asked if she thought about going to work for her friend Tony at AEW.
"Oh yeah, absolutely. I think Tony has always left the door open there. I’ve been very, just... and ESPN wasn’t so keen on letting me do other opportunities while I was under their roof," Charly Arnolt said.
Charly continued expressing interest in crossover work with WWE and other wrestling promotions.