Joining OutKick is outspoken Charly Arnolt, who worked for ESPN and is WWE alum Charly Caruso
It’s fair to say that Tony Khan is one of the reasons Charly Arnolt landed in WWE.
After graduating in 2010 summa cum laude from American University in Washington D.C. with a degree in broadcast journalism, Arnolt (aka WWE’s Charly Caruso) worked the TV news scene as a reporter, sports reporter and anchor.
WWE was not on her radar, but in 2016, a friend helped put it there. That friend, Tony Khan, invited her to a WWE “SmackDown” show in Indianapolis in 2016. That’s where she met WWE senior director of talent relations Mark Carrano, who connected her with WWE commentator Michael Cole. A longtime WWE broadcaster, Cole is instrumental in hiring TV broadcasters and ring announcers for the company.
Cole was very interested, but there were no openings. When Brandi Rhodes opted to leave WWE in May 2016, a door opened, and Arnolt joined WWE. She adopted the name Charly Caruso and debuted as a ring announcer for WWE NXT.
It didn’t take long for her to make the main roster, interviewing WWE superstars and hosting events, segments and shows on USA Network, WWE YouTube, WWE social media and WWE Network, including “Raw Talk” with R-Truth.
That all occurred pre-All Elite Wrestling.
Arnolt remains friends with Khan, who is the founder, CEO, head of creative and president of AEW, and she is open to doing something with AEW.
WWE again, too.
While in WWE, Arnolt as Carsuo started to work a program with WWE superstars Angel Garza and Zelina Vega, which could have led to her debut match, but that did not materialize.
A younger Arnolt did some muay thai training. Wrestling pro and fighting MMA interest her.
Arnolt joins OutKick
OutKick announced that WWE alum Charly Arnolt left ESPN to join Outkick as it continues to expand its lineup. OutKick is founded by Clay Travis, writer, lawyer, radio host, television analyst and sports journalist.
Here is my audio interview with her as she discusses the movie to OutKick, WWE, Tony Khan, AEW, ESPN and more.
Arnolt left ESPN after a five-year run. She will be co-hosting a new OutKick show currently in development, which will be announced ahead of the football season.
As Charly Caruso, she was a ring announcer, show host and interviewer for WWE from 2016 to 2021.
She also worked for sports giant ESPN, double-dipping from 2018 to 2021, before leaving WWE. She continued her journey with ESPN, until making the move officially to OutKick in April.
In addition to her new show on OutKick, Arnolt will be featured across OutKick platforms to discuss trending topics and provide her authentic takes on the most pressing stories in sports. Arnolt brings years of industry experience to OutKick with her experience as a multiplatform host and reporter with ESPN as well as a host for WWE.
In a press release, Travis said, “Charly is an outstanding talent and will be a great asset for OutKick. It doesn’t surprise me she wanted to leave ESPN given their woke approach to sports, and this is a great opportunity for her to join a platform that’s growing fast where she can speak her mind.”
Arnolt added, “I’m extremely excited to join OutKick and work alongside Clay and a great stable of talent. The outspoken nature of the platform and its ability to create engaging content is what really piqued my interest. I have a lot of opinions that I haven’t been able to express, and I can’t wait get started.”
Arnolt will continue her role as a reporter for UFC events.
During Arnolt’s time at ESPN she was a host on First Take, “SportsCenter” and made regular appearances on ESPN+’s weekday morning show, “SportsNation” along with many other shows on the streaming service. She also launched an ESPN podcast called “First Take, Her Take.” Previously, she was with WWE and hosted a national syndicated radio show covering sports, entertainment, and comedy.
More about OutKick
OutKick saw a record increase of more than 140-percent in YouTube subscribers from March to April 2023. The platform also had a record month of video views on YouTube with 284.2 million, which is up 909-percent versus March 2023, according to Shareablee.
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This story was originally published May 19, 2023 at 1:53 PM.
