Michelle McCool is a legend in the wrestling business, and there have been many iconic moments throughout her career. Women's wrestling was overlooked for many years in WWE before the Women's Evolution took off in 2015. However, Michelle McCool is one of the greatest wrestlers of her era. She is a four-time Women's Champion with two reigns apiece as WWE Divas Champion, and as the WWE Women's Champion. Furthermore, McCool's in-ring career lasted less than a decade, but she had a huge impact on women's wrestling.
McCool made history throughout her career, and since she retired in 2011, she has made sporadic appearances. McCool is the real-life wife of The Undertaker, and while she hasn't been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame yet, there's no doubt that her contributions to the industry deserve an induction. McCool's career was full of historic moments, and these photos tell a story of her WWE run.
11 Diva Search
Michelle McCool has an athletic background, and it was there for everyone to see during the inaugural Diva Search competition in 2004. McCool was a former teacher, and she had an excellent outing in the Divas Dodgeball with her fellow contesants against the current WWE Divas at SummerSlam 2004.
McCool was 24 at the time, and she was the fourth woman to be eliminated from the contest. Nevertheless, that wasn't the end of the road for McCool as she signed a three-year deal and was sent to developmental for further training.
10 Manager Of KC James & Idol Stevens
In the summer of 2006, Michelle McCool re-emerged on WWE programming as a heel. McCool began to manage KC James and Idol Stevens. Stevens would be repackaged as Idol Stevens in later years. The trio was called The Teacher's Pets.
McCool would keep them in line, and James and Stevens challenged Brian Kendrick and Paul London for the WWE Tag Team Championship at No Mercy 2006. They failed to take away the titles, and the trio's relationship soon dissolved.
9 Alliance With Chuck Palumbo
Michelle McCool turned face in 2007, and she was repackaged as "The All-American Diva." McCool began to accompany Chuck Palumbo to the ring. Chuck had a fascination with motorcycles, and once he retired from professional wrestling, he continued to work with bikes in real life.
McCool and Chuck had good chemistry together, and she would ride on his bike when they would make their way to the ring. Moreover, Chuck and McCool feuded with Jamie Noble during this time frame. Their partnership came to an end when Chuck caused McCool to suffer a concussion in storyline, and she refused to accept his apology.
8 Inaugural Divas Champion
The Great American Bash 2008 pitted Michelle McCool against Natalya with the winner going on to be crowned as the first-ever Divas Champion. McCool and Natalya had a decent match, and McCool made history as the first-ever Divas Champion.
McCool is one of the greatest Divas Champions in WWE history, but her first title defense didn't come until Unforgiven 2008 when she successfully defended the title against Maryse. Nevertheless, McCool established herself as a strong wrestler, and she went from strength to strength during her title reign.
7 Heel Turn
Michelle McCool did a good job in establishing the Divas Championship on the main roster as a new championship. However, all good things must come to an end, and she dropped the Divas Championship to Maryse on the December 26, 2008, edition of SmackDown with Maria as the special guest referee.
Afterward, McCool was infuriated with the loss, and she turned heel once again as she attacked Maria. McCool remained as a heel for the rest of her WWE career, and she unleashed a new side to her character, which was needed to freshen things up.
6 History Maker
At The Bash 2009, Michelle McCool challenged Melina for the WWE Women's Championship. History was at stake for McCool; if she prevailed, she'd become the first woman to win both the Divas and Women's Championships.
McCool and Melina had a decent outing here, and McCool was victorious, thus adding the WWE Women's Championship to her collection. McCool held the Women's Championship for 216 days, and her rematch with Melina at Night of Champions was so good, that they got in trouble for it.
5 LayCool
Toward the end of 2009, Michelle McCool and Layla kick-started a partnership, and collectively they were known as LayCool. Both complimented each other well here, and they were an entertaining heel duo with similar characteristics.
McCool and Layla brought Vickie Guerrero on board, and there were several championship reigns in their camp. They were co-Women's Champions when Layla was recognized as the final WWE Women's Champion before the title became defunct at Night of Champions 2010.
4 Feud With Mickie James
Mickie James moved over to SmackDown in late 2009, and she became public enemy number one of LayCool's. The feud took a hard turn when LayCool mocked Mickie's weight and call her "Piggie James."
McCool and Mickie had an excellent Women's Championship match at TLC with McCool retaining the title. However, Mickie momentarily got the last laugh at the Royal Rumble 2010 when she regained the Women's Championship from Mickie. A month later, McCool recaptured the title with Vickie Guerrero as the special guest referee, and McCool moved on to a feud with Beth Phoenix.
3 Unified Divas Champion
Night of Champions 2010 saw the demise of the WWE Women's Championship. Layla was the recognized WWE Women's Champion, but LayCool were co-Women's Champions. Nevertheless, McCool went head-to-head with Melina, who was the reigning Divas Champion, in a lumberjill match.
McCool and Melina were capable of producing much better, and a huge assist from Layla allowed McCool to make more history. While the Women's Championship was retired, McCool started her second Divas Championship reign. Once again, LayCool shared duties as co-Divas Champions, and both women had a title belt each.
2 Retirement
LayCool had been rock solid for two years, but their partnership dissolved in 2011. At Extreme Rules, McCool and Layla squared off in a Loser Leaves WWE match. The match was poor, and Layla prevailed, but both women were emotional afterward as that successful chapter in their careers had closed.
Before McCool could head back to the locker room, Kharma debuted and laid out McCool with the Implant Buster. In reality, McCool decided to retire. She was only 31 years of age when she walked away from the squared circle because of injuries and wanting to start a family.
1 Sporadic Appearances
Michelle McCool is a part of the WWE family, and she appeared on the January 22, 2018, edition of Raw as one of the legends appearing on the show. A week later, McCool was involved in the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match at the 2018 Royal Rumble, which headlined the show.
McCool was one of the standout performers, and she entered the match as the 14th entrant. She eliminated a record five competitors in the match until Natalya halted her dominance. McCool competed in the battle royal at the women's pay-per-view titled Evolution, and she was involved once more in another women's Royal Rumble match in 2022.