Michelle McCool (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

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Michelle Leigh McCool (born January 25, 1980), is an American professional wrestler who is best known for her time in WWE. She is a former two-times WWE Divas Champion & a two-times WWE Women's Champion.

McCool originally worked as a middle school teacher in Palatka, Florida. She joined WWE in 2004 after participating in the 2004 WWE Diva Search. In her initial on-screen role, she acted primarily as a personal trainer and occasional wrestler. She also acted as the manager to the team of K. C. James and Idol Stevens, collectively known as the Teacher's Pets, in 2006 after changing her on-screen character to that of a teacher. At The Great American Bash in 2008, she became the inaugural WWE Divas Champion, holding the title for approximately five months. She then won the WWE Women's Championship at The Bash in 2009, becoming the first female wrestler to have held both titles. At Night of Champions in 2010, she unified both titles becoming the first WWE Unified Divas Champion. She has held both titles on two occasions, which makes her a four-time champion overall.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Entertainment

Diva Search, SmackDown!, DSW and OVW (2004-2006)

Michelle McCool first came to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a competitor in the 2004 WWE Diva Search, losing to Christy Hemme.[2] Although she was eliminated, WWE signed her to a three-year deal in November.[2] Despite not winning the contest, she later debuted on SmackDown! as a fan favorite with a "personal trainer" gimmick.[2]

McCool made her in-ring debut on SmackDown!, in mixed tag team match teaming with The Big Show to defeat Dawn Marie and René Duprée on March 3, 2005. On the March 24 episode of Smackdown!, McCool made her singles debut in a losing effort losing to Dawn Marie after Marie won by using the ropes for leverage.

A few months later, McCool became a part of the feud between MNM and Heidenreich when she defended Heidenreich against MNM's manager Melina's verbal attacks. In a match on June 30, Melina defeated McCool by pinning her with the illegal aid of the ring ropes as leverage. After the match, MNM performed their finisher, the Snapshot, on McCool.

McCool was then sent to WWE's developmental facility, Deep South Wrestling (DSW), where she wrestled, performed interviews, hosted segments, and provided color commentary. While in DSW, she was hospitalized after having an allergic reaction to a prescribed medication and was temporarily sidelined to recover.

Eventually, she started to train in WWE's other developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). While in OVW, she began managing the duo of Amish Roadkill and K.C. James. In September, McCool made her in-ring debut losing to Angel Williams.

Return to SmackDown! and Divas Champion (2006?2009)

She returned to SmackDown! on June 2, 2006, this time working as a villainous character with a "sexy teacher" gimmick, pulling on her real life experiences. Upon her arrival, she aligned with Kristal Marshall to feud with Jillian Hall and Ashley Massaro. This feud led to a Fatal Four-Way Bra and Panties match at The Great American Bash, which Massaro won. She won her first singles match on the July 28 edition of SmackDown!, defeating Hall by illegally using the ropes as leverage. Soon after, she began acting as valet for the team of K. C. James and Idol Stevens, who, because of her association with them, were nicknamed The Teacher's Pets. The trio began feuding with Paul London and Brian Kendrick, and their valet Massaro, for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but never won the title. The feud ended when London and Kendrick won a match against them at No Mercy in October. On November 28, McCool was hospitalized with an enlarged kidney, a broken sternum, and an electrolyte imbalance.¹ She was released from the hospital on December 2.

McCool returned on the March 30, 2007 edition of SmackDown, where she participated in a 10-Diva tag team match with Victoria, then-WWE Women's Champion Melina, Kristal Marshall, and Jillian Hall in a losing effort. On the April 13 edition of SmackDown!, McCool became a fan favorite once again when she came to the aid of Ashley Massaro after she was attacked by Jillian Hall backstage. Subsequently, a series of matches took place between Victoria and McCool, including a Mixed Tag Team match where Victoria and Kenny Dykstra defeated McCool and Chuck Palumbo. On the November 13 episode of ECW, McCool formed alliance with Kelly Kelly where they defeated Melina and Layla. On the December 12, 2007 episode of ECW, McCool saved Kelly Kelly from attack from Victoria and Layla.

McCool then began accompanying her on-screen friend Chuck Palumbo during matches against Jamie Noble. After a series of matches between the men, Noble won a date with McCool by defeating Palumbo in a match. In the storyline, Palumbo accidentally elbowed McCool during a match, causing her to suffer a concussion. The partnership was dissolved when McCool refused to accept his apology. She then went on to compete in a series of contests with Victoria, Eve Torres, Maryse and Cherry to determine SmackDown!'s top Diva, winning the title. At The Great American Bash on July 20, 2008, McCool defeated Natalya to become the inaugural WWE Divas Champion. For the following months Michelle started feuds with Maryse and Natalya. She successfully defended her Divas Championship against Maryse at Unforgiven and on the September 19 episode of SmackDown.

On the December 26, 2008 episode of SmackDown, McCool lost the Divas Championship to Maryse. After the match McCool blamed Maria, the special guest referee of the match, for her loss and attacked her, establishing herself as a heel. In the following weeks, McCool also attacked Eve Torres, resulting in Eve's debut match, which McCool won via submission. On the March 27 episode of SmackDown, McCool got her rematch for the Divas Championship but ended in a no contest following Gail Kim's interference.

Women's Champion and LayCool (2009-2011)

See LayCool for more information McCool then defeated Gail Kim on the May 22 episode of SmackDown to become the number one contender for the WWE Women's Championship, which she would win a month later at The Bash by defeating Melina. She retained the championship against Melina during a rematch on July 26 at Night of Champions and also during a "Lumberjill" match on the October 2 edition of SmackDown.

McCool then formed an alliance with Layla, and entered into a feud with Mickie James, which resulted in a five-on-five Elimination match at Survivor Series, which James' team won. James then became the number one contender for McCool's championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, where McCool successfully retained the championship. McCool, however, lost the WWE Women's Championship to James at the 2010 Royal Rumble, though she regained it on the February 26 edition of SmackDown when special guest referee Vickie Guerrero interfered, costing James the Championship. On the April 23 edition of SmackDown, McCool and Layla defeated Beth Phoenix and Mickie James, and humiliated Phoenix with a spray and table. The attack was a reference to the upcoming Extreme Makeover WWE Women's Championship match between McCool and Phoenix at Extreme Rules, which McCool lost. On the May 14 episode of SmackDown McCool and Layla faced the then-WWE Women's Champion Phoenix in a two-on-one handicap match, in which Layla pinned Phoenix and won the WWE Women's Championship.

On the July 30 edition of SmackDown, McCool took the place of Layla in her WWE Women's Championship match against Tiffany, defeating her and retaining the title. At Night of Champions McCool defeated Melina to unify the WWE Women's Championship and the WWE Divas Championship, thus becoming the first ever WWE Unified Divas Champion. At Survivor Series on November 21, she lost the Divas Championship when Natalya defeated McCool and Layla in a two-on-one handicap match. At TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, she and Layla were defeated in the first ever Divas tag team tables match by Natalya and Beth Phoenix.

On the March 14 episode of Raw, LayCool helped Guerrero defeat Trish Stratus in no Disqualification match, to get a job on Raw, after the match, LayCool was attacked by Snooki and Stratus. On the March 21 episode of Raw, LayCool teamed up with Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero defeating Trish Stratus and John Morrison in a handicap mixed tag-team match. At WrestleMania XXVII on April 3, 2011, McCool, Layla and Dolph Ziggler (accompanied by Vickie Guerrero) lost to Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Trish Stratus, and John Morrison in a six-person mixed tag team match after Snooki pinned McCool.

On the April 8 edition of SmackDown, LayCool began to fall out again after being defeated by Phoenix and Kelly Kelly after McCool avoided being tagged in by Layla, blaming a back injury. After more arguing in the following weeks, the team disbanded. On the April 29 edition of SmackDown, McCool faced Layla in a singles match, ending in a double countout. After the match, Layla challenged McCool to no disqualifications and no count outs match at Extreme Rules. McCool accepted under one condition, the Loser Leaves WWE. At Extreme Rules, McCool was pinned by Layla, which forced her to leave WWE. Afterwards, she was attacked by the debuting Kharma to write her out. Michelle was part of the Crowd at Over the Limit (2012).

Other Media

During the week of November 5, 2007, she appeared on six episodes of Family Feud with several other WWE wrestlers and Divas. She also appeared on the February 6, 2008 episode of Project Runway with Maria Kanellis, Candice Michelle, Torrie Wilson, Kristal Marshall, and Layla El. On June 3, 2008, she appeared on The Best Damn Sports Show Period with John Cena. In addition, McCool appeared in the January 2009 edition of Muscle & Fitness, along with Eve Torres and Maryse. She also appeared on a special WWE edition of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader. On July 1, 2012 McCool, along with Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres, appeared in an episode of Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition.

Personal life

Before and during high school, McCool played softball. She also played first base at Pasco-Hernando Community College. McCool later received her Master's degree in Educational leadership from Florida State University. Before becoming involved in professional wrestling, she taught seventh grade science for four years in Palatka, Florida. She also competed in National Physique Committee fitness contests. Both of her parents also work in education; her mother is a teacher and her father is a superintendent. She has an older brother who played football at the University of Cincinnati.

McCool was married to Jeremy Louis Alexander, whom she began dating in high school. The couple divorced in 2006. She married fellow wrestler Mark Calaway, known professionally as The Undertaker, on June 26, 2010 in Houston, Texas. On August 1, 2012 it was announced that they were expecting their first child. Kaia Faith Calaway was born on August 29, 2012 and is Calaway's fourth child and McCool's first.

McCool is a Christian. Her wrestling outfits incorporate Christian crosses. She has had several wrestling-related injuries; in November 2007, she fractured her nose during an overseas WWE tour after Victoria's clothesline hit her in the face. She has been hospitalized twice, had two broken ribs, a broken sternum, and a broken xiphoid process. When she chose to leave the WWE, she mentioned that her foot had been injured for two months with a broken toe, torn joint capsules and a torn MCL.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Simply Flawless (Big boot, sometimes as a counter to a diving opponent)
  • Wings Of Love (Lifting double underhook sitout facebuster) " 2008
  • Faith Breaker (Belly to back inverted mat slam) " 2008-2011
  • MADT - Make a Diva Tap (Heel hook, sometimes transitioned into an ankle lock) " 2008-2011
  • Final Exam (Spinning backbreaker) " 2005-2007

• Signature moves
  • Baseball slide
  • Belly to belly suplex
  • European uppercut
  • Running corkscrew neckbreaker
  • McKick (Roundhouse kick), sometimes while in kneeling position
  • Russian legsweep, floated over into a pin
  • Running springboard hurricanrana

• With Layla
  • Finishing moves
    • Leg trap (Layla) / Big boot (Michelle McCool) combination
    • Double running big boot
  • Signature moves
    • Double forward Russian legsweep

• Managers
  • Chuck Palumbo
  • Vickie Guerrero
  • Kristal Marshall
  • Layla
  • Alicia Fox

• Wrestlers managed
  • Amish Roadkill
  • Jon Heidenreich
  • K.C. James
  • Chuck Palumbo
  • Kara Drew
  • Jamie Noble
  • Layla El
  • Kaval
  • Dolph Ziggler

• Entrance themes
  • "Move It Up" by Billy Lincoln (March 3, 2005-June 2, 2006)
  • "Not Enough for Me" by Jim Johnston (June 2, 2006-May 1, 2011)

Championships and accomplishments

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked her #9 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2008
  • PWI ranked her #8 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2009
  • PWI ranked her #1 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2010
  • PWI Woman of the Year (2010)

• World Wrestling Entertainment
  • WWE Divas Championship (2 times)
  • WWE Women's Championship (2 times)
  • Unified WWE Divas Championship/WWE Women's Championship (2010)
  • SmackDown! Top Diva Winner (2008)
  • Slammy Award for Diva of the Year (2010)
  • Slammy Award for Knucklehead Moment of the Year (2010) - with Layla
  • WWE.com ranked LayCool #36 on its "The 50 Greatest Tag Teams in WWE History" list in 2012 - with Layla
  • WWE.com ranked her #13 on its "15 Superstars and Divas who should return for One More Match" list in 2012
  • WWE.com ranked her #19 on its "20 Smartest Superstars in History" list in 2012

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards
  • Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic (2009) Exploiting Mickie James' weight issues

Footnotes

¹ McCool originally injured her back during a WWE European tour. Because of pain in her back, she was unaware of the sternum injury until she went to the hospital for treatment. Tests also revealed that she had an enlarged kidney.

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