Posted By James Walsh on 02/13/25
Former WWE star Michelle McCool did an interview with ChrisVanVliet.com and here are the highlights courtesy of ChrisVanVliet.com…
On the Piggy James storyline: “I give credit to this day, and I said this to somebody the other day, and I said it to her. But the whole Piggy James storyline, me at heart hated it, just because of what it was. You’re bullying somebody, supposedly that they’re supposedly overweight, and that has never been me. Every week I’d go up to her, ‘Mickie, I’m so sorry. This is what they want us to say’. Complete professional. Not once did she try to change things, which often girls did. Not once. She’s like, ‘No, it’s good. It’s cool.’ She knew that took two to tango. She knew what her role was. She knew what our role was, and she really, I think, put us on the map with that storyline.”
On the split Women’s Championship: “That was, I want to say that was Batista’s idea. We were backstage, and he’s like, Well, what If y’all cut it in half like the best friend necklaces? Our minds went there, and we’re like, that’d be great. And I don’t think anybody else thought it was a great idea. Like, come on, guys, that was fun. Yeah, that was fun.”
On dating The Undertaker affecting things professionally: “I just know that I wasn’t the only one dating guys around there and I definitely didn’t see that from anybody else. [Did it feel personal?] Not so much personal to me, but because he is the top [guy], he is the benchmark for everybody. So I think people looked at that differently, he has whatever pull he wants is what people think. You can ask him, and I actually am so stubborn, I don’t ever need any type of help to fight any battle, to fight a storyline, to pitch a storyline, I can look in the mirror and just say that’s never happened. Now, there was one time a little incident happened with a guy, and I had to beg him not to say something, even though this guy was calling Mark and wanting to talk to him and apologize and everything else, which he didn’t answer. He may sweat it out for several weeks, it’s good now. I was good, totally fine now, but I mean, just point being that’s my nature, that’s my character, that’s how I’ve always been my entire life to a fault. I don’t need help from anybody. I can figure this out. I can chuck them through and get something done. But, you know, there were writers that literally threw up their papers. ‘If she wasn’t the Undertaker’s girlfriend…’ I will turn my cheek a million times, but also stand up for myself. And there are a few times I can remember, like a handful, where I’d already talked to somebody earlier in the day and they had treated me one way. And then, of course, they see me and Mark together, and I have to say, Guess what? I didn’t change from 10 minutes ago. So treat me the same way you treated me when he wasn’t standing here.”
On being a surprise entrant in the 2023 Royal Rumble: “Yeah, that was fun. That was interesting. I’ve told the story before. They called me on very short notice. I think it was eight, nine days. Asked me if I wanted to do it, and I was like, Oh shoot. I mean, yes, I’ll work out. But I’m sure you’ve heard it a million times, ring shape is a whole different ball game. I think I was in for a few minutes. I think at one point, it’s kind of in a corner with it was either Piper or Naomi. I was like give me a second y’all, I’m tired. But, yeah, that was super fun. I knew I was going to be there with the kids watching, and my dad was there, and it was something different. I mean, they said I could wrestle in my sweatpants and Uggs. I should have been doing it my entire career. I was like I am in. Honestly, it was a thing where Mark and I talked, our daughter was kind of struggling, she’s a perfectionist, and if she can’t do something on the first try, she gets so mad. So it was a kind of a lesson. I said, You know what? I’m just gonna let her know this is something that mommy is kind of a little bit terrified to do on such short notice. I don’t know if I’m ready to do it, but you know what, we can be scared and brave at the same time and go out and do it. So it was kind of a lesson I was trying to build in for her. Don’t really know that she got that, she’s just loves WWE period. Not even sure she was cheering for me. But that was part of the reasoning as well.”