Being a professional wrestler herself and the better-half of a legendary WWE Superstar isn’t easy but Michelle McCool is a trendsetter, overcoming these two odds. A veteran from the female roster who used to have her own league is often referred to as The Undertaker’s spouse to which she had a problem.
In fact, at one point, this secondary identity of her forced to quit WWE and thereby what she always loved. This was quite a bittersweet thing for Michelle McCool as she was a multi-time champion in the female locker room whereas growing a family with the wrestling icon was also in her mind. She apparently excelled in both as we’d now have a look at the key moments from her professional and personal life.
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– Michelle Leigh Calaway aka Michelle McCool was born on January 25, 1980, at Palatka, Florida. Both her parents were associated with work in education. Her mother, Jenny is a teacher and her father, Terry, is a superintendent.
– From childhood, she has a great nag in wrestling whereas her brother played football at the University of Cincinnati. She was able to learn Ric Flair’s pendant submission move Figure Four Leglock at the age of just seven.
– During high school days, Michelle McCool played softball, basketball, and volleyball. She also played first base at Pasco-Hernando State College. She later received her Master’s degree in Educational leadership from Florida State University was then appointed as a teacher for seventh-grade science for four years in her hometown of Palatka, Florida. She also competed in National Physique Committee fitness contests while teaching gymnastics and kickboxing, and working as a personal trainer.
– Michelle McCool arrived at the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a participant in the 2004 WWE Diva Search where she lost to Christy Hemme. Even though she was eliminated, WWE signed her to a three-year deal in November.
– WWE quickly started using her of TV in a fitness trainer’s role. She wrestled in her first SmackDown match, teaming with The Big Show to defeat Dawn Marie and René Duprée on March 3, 2005, episode. McCool made her singles debut match on March 24, which ended in a losing effort to Marie.
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– Her career witnessed a halt as WWE sent her to WWE’s developmental facility, Deep South Wrestling (DSW), where she was groomed up for the mainstay league. During this time, she was hospitalized after having an allergic reaction to prescribed medication and was temporarily sidelined. Later, she resumed training in WWE’s other developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). She managed the duo of Amish Roadkill and K.C. James, there.
– Michelle McCool returned to SmackDown on June 2, 2006, playing a heel role by donning a “sexy teacher” gimmick that came out through her real-life experiences as a teacher.
– She won her first singles match on TV during the July 28 episode of SmackDown by defeating Jillian Hall by illegally using the ropes as leverage.
– On November 28, McCool was hospitalized with an enlarged kidney, a broken sternum, and an electrolyte imbalance. She was released from the hospital on December 2 and returned on TV on the March 30, 2007, episode of SmackDown, by participating in a 10-Diva tag team match.
– As a babyface, Michelle McCool was then repackaged as “The All-American Diva”, where she began accompanying her on-screen friend Chuck Palumbo during matches against Jamie Noble. A few weeks later, she had a series of matches against Victoria, Eve Torres, Maryse, and Cherry to become SmackDown’s Top Diva.
– On July 4, 2008, episode of SmackDown, she won a Golden Dreams match to face Natalya for the WWE Divas Championship at The Great American Bash, on July 20, where she defeated Natalya to become the inaugural WWE Divas Champion.
– On the December 26 episode of SmackDown, Michelle McCool lost the Divas Championship to Maryse. She turned heel after the match by attacking Maria, the special guest referee of the match, who was blamed for the loss.
– McCool defeated Gail Kim on May 22, 2009, SmackDown to become the number one contender for the WWE Women’s Championship. At The Bash, McCool defeated Melina via distraction from Alicia Fox to win her first Women’s Championship. Thus, she became the first Diva to have captured both the WWE Divas and Women’s championships.
– Michelle McCool then allied with Layla to form LayCool as the duo go on to dominate the female division. She lost the Women’s Championship to Mickie James at the Royal Rumble but then regained it on February 26, 2010, episode of SmackDown as the special guest referee Vickie Guerrero interfered helping her to become a two-time Women’s Champion.
– On the May 14 episode of SmackDown, LayCool faced Beth Phoenix in a Women’s Championship two-on-one handicap match, where Layla pinned Phoenix to win the championship. After this, McCool and Layla cut the Women’s Championship in half and unofficially declares themselves to be the “co-champions”.
– At Night of Champions, Michelle McCool defeated Melina to unify the WWE Women’s Championship with the WWE Divas Championship, becoming the first WWE Unified Divas Champion. Both the LayCool members carried their own separate championship belts.
– At Survivor Series on November 21, McCool lost the Divas Championship as Natalya defeated McCool and Layla in a two-on-one handicap match.
– On April 8, episode of SmackDown difference of opinion was spotted between McCool and Layla after they were defeated by Beth Phoenix and Kelly Kelly. On April 29 SmackDown, Layla challenged McCool to a no disqualification and no count-out match at Extreme Rules. McCool accepted adding the Loser Leaves WWE stipulation. At Extreme Rules, McCool lost to Layla that marked the end of her WWE career.
– On January 22, 2018 episode of Raw that was also the show’s 25th anniversary, WWE honoured Michelle McCool for being a legendary Diva in WWE history. She was a surprise entrant in the inaugural women’s Royal Rumble match at the 2018 Royal Rumble. Later that year in October, she also competed in the all women’s pay-per-view, WWE Evolution, by participating in a battle royal.
– Apart from WWE TV, on November 5, 2007, Michelle McCool appeared on six episodes of Family Feud with several other WWE wrestlers and Divas. She also appeared on February 6, 2008, episode of Project Runway with Maria Kanellis, Candice Michelle, Torrie Wilson, Kristal Marshall, and Layla.
– On June 3, 2008, she appeared on The Best Damn Sports Show Period with John Cena and in the January 2009 edition of Muscle & Fitness, along with Eve Torres and Maryse. Plus, she also appeared on a special WWE edition of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader. She has been part of WWE games namely SmackDown vs. Raw 2006, SmackDown vs. Raw 2008, SmackDown vs. Raw 2009, SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, SmackDown vs. Raw 2011[65], and WWE ’12.
– Pro Wrestling Illustrated named Michelle McCool Woman of the Year (2010) whereas also ranked her No. 1 of the top 50 female wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2010. She won 2 Slammy Awards –
Diva of the Year (2010) and Knucklehead Moment of the Year (2010) for losing to Mae Young at Old School Raw with Layla
– Michelle McCool was married to Jeremy Louis Alexander, whom she began dating in high school. The couple got divorced in 2006 as she married fellow wrestler Mark Calaway aka The Undertaker, on June 26, 2010, in Houston, Texas. Their first child together, a daughter, was born in August 2012.
– Being a devout Christian, she incorporated Christian crosses on her wrestling attire. McCool reportedly had two broken ribs, a broken sternum, and a broken xiphoid process. While announcing retirement, she had been injured for two months prior with a broken toe, torn joint capsules, and a torn MCL.
– In 2016 Michelle McCool was diagnosed with skin cancer, who then underwent successful treatment. In April 2019, she publicly revealed having struggles with infertility and had suffered several miscarriages due to this.
