Michelle McCool made an appearance on the latest episode of Insight With Chris Van Vliet to discuss a wide range of topics, including a 2009 storyline involving former Divas Champion Michelle McCool and Layla, which saw the pair target Mickie James, focusing on her weight and referring to her as “Piggy James.”
McCool stated, And 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, like me at heart, hated it just because of what it was, right? Like you’re bullying somebody supposedly that they’re supposedly overweight, and that has never been me. Every week, I’d go up to her like, ‘Mickie, I’m so sorry. This is what they want us to say.’ Complete professional. Not once does she try to change things, which often girls did. Not once did she’s like, ‘No, it’s good, it’s cool.’ She knew that it 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.”
Van Vliet asked about WWE doing the storyline in today’s climate, to which McCool responded, “Oh, gosh, no. Could you imagine?…That’s how it was every week. I couldn’t believe they wanted us to do this.”
Regarding the original pitch, McCool said, “I don’t remember it. A lot of times back then, things started with personal digs at somebody, or, you know, maybe somebody got in trouble, and they wanted to make fun. I don’t know what it was, but it just came out of the blue. Layla and I were young and a bit naive; we did some silly things, we had a lot of fun. But when that storyline came about, I was like, ‘Oh, this is just mean.’ But it did get us over. And I give all the credit in the world to Mickie for that. She easily could have said, ‘Guys, this is too much, too far, I’m not doing it.’ She was already over, but she knew how the business worked, and it got her more over, and she helped us.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Insight With Chris Van Vliet with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
