 McCool in 2016 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michelle Leigh McCool (1980-01-25)January 25, 1980 (age 45)[2] Palatka, Florida, U.S.[2] |
| Alma mater | Florida State University |
Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Michelle McCool |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1][2] |
| Billed weight | 127 lb (58 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Palatka, Florida[1][3] |
| Trained by | Deep South Wrestling[2] Ohio Valley Wrestling[2][3] |
| Debut | November 18, 2004[3] |
| Retired | May 1, 2011[4] |
Michelle Leigh Calaway[5] (néeMcCool; born January 25, 1980) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler. She is signed toWWE, as an ambassador.
McCool originally worked as a middle school teacher inPalatka, Florida. She joined WWE in 2004 after participating in theWWE Diva Search. From 2005 to 2007, she utilized the character of a personal trainer, before changing it to that of a teacher. AtThe Great American Bash in 2008, McCool became the inaugural WWE Divas Champion, holding the title for approximately five months. She then won the WWE Women's Championship atThe Bash in 2009, becoming the first female wrestler to have held both titles. AtNight of Champions in 2010, she unified both titles becoming the first and only WWE Unified Divas Champion.
McCool held both titles on two occasions, which makes her a four-time champion overall. In November 2010, she was ranked number one inPro Wrestling Illustrated's Female 50, and she retired the following year. Since 2018, McCool has made occasional appearances in WWE, including participating in matches. In 2025, she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. McCool was officially inducted by her husband and fellow WWE Hall of Famer, The Undertaker.
Both of McCool's parents work in education; her mother, Jenny,[6] is a teacher and her father, Terry, is asuperintendent.[7] She has an older brother who played football at theUniversity of Cincinnati.[8] Growing up, McCool was an allegedprofessional wrestling fan. Before and during high school, McCool playedsoftball,basketball andvolleyball.[8] She also played first base atPasco-Hernando Community College.[7] McCool later received herMaster's degree inEducational leadership fromFlorida State University,[7] and taughtseventh grade science for four years in her hometown ofPalatka, Florida.[2][7] She also competed inNational Physique Committeefitness contests, taughtgymnastics andkickboxing, and worked as apersonal trainer.[2]
McCool first came toWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a competitor in the2004 WWE Diva Search, losing toChristy Hemme.[2] Although she was eliminated, WWE signed her to a three-year deal in November.[2] She quickly began appearing in backstage segments onSmackDown! portraying afitness trainer and teaching various wrestlers stretches. She wrestled in her firstSmackDown! match,teaming withBig Show to defeatDawn Marie andRené Duprée on March 3, 2005.[9] McCool made hersingles debut match on March 24, losing to Marie.[3] A few months later, McCool became a part of the feud betweenMNM (Johnny Nitro andJoey Mercury) andHeidenreich when she defended Heidenreich against MNM'smanagerMelina's verbal attacks.[2] In a match on June 30, Melina defeated McCool by pinning her with the illegal aid of the ring ropes as leverage.[2]
McCool was then sent to WWE's developmental facility,Deep South Wrestling (DSW), where she wrestled, performed interviews, hosted segments, and providedcolor commentary.[2] While in DSW, she was hospitalized after having an allergic reaction to aprescribed medication and was temporarily sidelined to recover.[2] Eventually, she started to train in WWE's other developmental territory,Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). While in OVW, she began managing the duo ofAmish Roadkill andK.C. James.[2]
McCool returned toSmackDown! on June 2, 2006, this time as avillainess with a "sexy teacher"gimmick, playing on her real life experiences as a teacher.[2] Upon her arrival, she aligned withKristal Marshall to feud withJillian Hall andAshley Massaro.[2] This feud led to aFatal Four-WayBra and Panties match atThe Great American Bash, which Massaro won.[10] She won her first singles match on the July 28 episode ofSmackDown!, defeating Hall by illegally using the ropes as leverage.[11]
Soon after, she began acting asvalet for theteam ofK.C. James andIdol Stevens, who, because of her association with them, were nicknamed The Teacher's Pets.[2][12] The trio began feuding withPaul London and Brian Kendrick, and their valet Massaro, for theWWE Tag Team Championship, but never won the title.[2] The feud ended when London and Kendrick won a match against them atNo Mercy in October.[13] On November 28, McCool was hospitalized with an enlarged kidney, a brokensternum, and anelectrolyte imbalance.[a][15] She was released from the hospital on December 2.[16] McCool returned on the March 30, 2007, episode ofSmackDown!, where she participated in a 10-Diva tag team match.[17] On the April 13 episode ofSmackDown!, McCool as afan favorite once again, when she came to the aid of Ashley after she was attacked by Jillian Hall backstage.[18] Subsequently, a series of matches took place between Victoria and McCool,[19] including amixed tag team match where Victoria andKenny Dykstra defeated McCool andChuck Palumbo.[20]
McCool was thenrepackaged as "The All-American Diva", where she began accompanying her on-screen friend Chuck Palumbo during matches against Jamie Noble.[2] After a series of matches between the men, Noble won a date with McCool by defeating Palumbo.[2] In the storyline, Palumbo accidentally elbowed McCool during a match,[2] causing her to suffer aconcussion.[21] The partnership was dissolved when McCool refused to accept his apology.[2] She then went on to compete in a series of matches with Victoria,Eve Torres,Maryse andCherry to determineSmackDown!'s top Diva, with McCool winning title.[1]
On the July 4, 2008, episode ofSmackDown!, McCool won aGolden Dreams match to faceNatalya for theWWE Divas Championship atThe Great American Bash. At the event, on July 20, McCool defeated Natalya to become the inaugural WWE Divas Champion.[22] McCool successfully defended the title against Maryse onSmackDown and at theUnforgiven pay-per-view in September, and againstMaria onSmackDown in November.[23][24][25] On the December 26 episode ofSmackDown!, McCool lost the Divas championship to Maryse.[26] After the match McCool turnedheel by attacking Maria, the special guest referee of the match, and blaming her for the loss.[26] In the following weeks, McCool also attackedEve Torres,[27] resulting in Torres' debut match, which McCool won.[28]
McCool then defeatedGail Kim on the May 22, 2009, taping ofSmackDown to become the number one contender for theWWE Women's Championship.[29] A month later atThe Bash, McCool defeated Melina – with help fromAlicia Fox – to win her first Women's Championship.[2][30] With her win, McCool became the first Diva to have won both the WWE Divas and Women's championships.[31] She retained the championship against Melina in a rematch on July 26 atNight of Champions,[32] and also in aLumberjill match on the October 2 episode ofSmackDown.[33]
McCool then allied withLayla to formLayCool, and the duo entered a controversial feud withMickie James, in which LayCool bullied James and made fun of her weight, calling her "Piggy James". The feud resulted in a five-on-fiveSurvivor Series match at the2009 Survivor Series, which James' team won, whenMelina pinned McCool.[34] James then became the number one contender for McCool's WWE Women's Championship atTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, where McCool successfully retained the championship after interference from Layla.[35][36] The "Piggy James" feud had a negative reception, being voted by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter the "Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic" of 2009. In 2025, McCool said during an interview she never felt comfortable with the angle.[37]
McCool lost the Women's Championship to James at theRoyal Rumble, although she regained it on the February 26, 2010, episode ofSmackDown! whenspecial guest refereeVickie Guerrero interfered, to become a two-time Women's Champion.[38][39] On the April 23 episode ofSmackDown!, McCool and Layla defeatedBeth Phoenix and Mickie James, and attacked Phoenix after the match. This led to McCool losing the championship to Phoenix in an "Extreme Makeover" match atExtreme Rules.[40] On the May 14 episode ofSmackDown!, McCool and Layla faced Phoenix in a Women's Championshiptwo-on-one handicap match, in which Layla pinned Phoenix to win the championship.[41] Despite Layla's win, McCool and Layla cut the Women's Championship in half, and the duo were unofficially referred to as the "co-champions".[42]
On the July 30 episode ofSmackDown!, McCooltook Layla's place in her Women's Championship match againstTiffany, defeating her and retaining the title.[43] AtNight of Champions, McCool defeated Melina tounify the WWE Women's Championship with theWWE Divas Championship,[44] becoming the first WWE Unified Divas Champion, and both McCool and Layla carried their own separate championship belts. AtSurvivor Series on November 21, she lost the Divas Championship whenNatalya defeated McCool and Layla in a two-on-one handicap match.[45] AtTLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, McCool and Layla were defeated in the first Divas tag teamtables match by Natalya and Beth Phoenix.[46][47] LayCool invoked their rematch clause in January 2011, prompting the scheduling of a two-on-one handicap match at theRoyal Rumble. At the event, however, the match was altered to a fatal four-way with the addition ofEve Torres, who won the match.[48]
On the April 8 episode ofSmackDown!, dissension began to show between McCool and Layla after they were defeated by Beth Phoenix andKelly Kelly, due to McCool avoiding being tagged in by Layla, citing a back injury.[49] After more arguing and unsuccessfulcouples therapy sessions in the following weeks, LayCool officially disbanded.[50] On the April 29 episode ofSmackDown, McCool faced Layla in a singles match, which ended in a doublecountout after the two began brawling. After the match, Layla challenged McCool to a no disqualification andno countout match atExtreme Rules. McCool accepted under one condition, which was that theloser leaves WWE.[51] At Extreme Rules, McCool was pinned by Layla, in her final full-time WWE match.[52]
In a June 2019 episode ofLilian Garcia'sChasing Glory podcast, McCool revealed that her departure from WWE was due to dealing with numerous injuries, including a torn MCL.[53] She also explained that conflicts with the WWE writing staff and wanting to have children further contributed to her decision to leave:
"It was tough just leaving in itself was tough because it got to a point where I was dealing with so much again mostly being Undertaker's girlfriend and why I was on TV and even having a writer throw the papers up one day and say 'Why don't we just call it the Michelle McCool and Undertaker show?!' It was nonstop and I went to Vince on numerous occasions and bless his heart he was wonderful, but I just said Vince, I don't wanna hate something that I grew up loving so much and the longer I stay the more I'm like getting a sour taste in my mouth. So making that decision to leave was as hard as it is, but more than wanting to be in WWE or be a champion I've always wanted to be a mom."[53]
On January 22, 2018, McCool was honored as part of a segment involving women that contributed to the company's success on theWWE Raw 25 Years special episode.[54] During the following years, she also participated into theRoyal Rumble match at the2018,2022 and2023 Royal Rumble events.[55] In October, McCool took part in the all women's pay-per-view,WWE Evolution, by participating in abattle royal.[56] During an appearance onESPN's morning programGet Up on February 14, 2025, McCool learned that she would be inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame.[57]
During the week of November 5, 2007, she appeared on six episodes ofFamily Feud with several other WWE wrestlers and Divas.[58] She also appeared on the February 6, 2008, episode ofProject Runway withMaria Kanellis,Candice Michelle,Torrie Wilson,Kristal Marshall, andLayla El.[59] On June 3, 2008, she appeared onThe Best Damn Sports Show Period withJohn Cena.[60] In addition, McCool appeared in the January 2009 edition ofMuscle & Fitness, along with Eve Torres andMaryse.[61][62] She also appeared on a special WWE edition ofAre You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader.[63]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | WWE RAW Diva Search Casting Special | Self; contestant | TV special |
| WWE 2004 RAW Diva Search | Self; contestant | 7th place, 6 episodes | |
| 2005 | WWE Hall of Fame 2005 | Self; guest | TV special |
| WWE Viva Las Divas | Self | Direct to DVD | |
| 2006 | WWE Hall of Fame 2006 | Self; guest | TV special |
| WWE Divas Do New York | Self | Direct to DVD | |
| 2007 | WWE Hall of Fame 2007 | Self; guest | TV special |
| Family Feud | Self; contestant | 6 episodes | |
| 2008 | WWE Hall of Fame 2008 | Self; guest | TV special |
| Project Runway | Self; guest | 3 episodes | |
| The Best Damn Sports Show Period | Self; guest | 1 episode | |
| 2009 | WWE Hall of Fame 2009 | Self; guest | TV special |
| Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? | Self; contestant | 1 episode | |
| GameSpot TV | Self; guest | 1 episode | |
| 2010 | WWE Hall of Fame 2010 | Self; guest | TV special |
| Double Exposure | Self; fashion expert | 1 episode | |
| 2011 | WWE Hall of Fame 2011 | Self; guest | TV special |
| 2013 | WWE Hall of Fame 2013 | Self; guest | TV special |
| 2016 | Table for 3 | Self | 1 episode |
| 2018 | Then, Now, Forever: Evolution of WWE's Women's Division | Self | Direct to DVD |
| 2020 | Undertaker: The Last Ride | Self | Documentary |
| WWE The Bump | Self; guest | 2 episodes | |
| 2021 | WWE Ruthless Aggression | Self | Documentary |
| WWE's Most Wanted Treasures | Self; guest | 1 episode | |
| 2022 | WWE Hall of Fame 2022 | Self; guest | TV special |
| 2025 | WWE Hall of Fame 2025 | Self; inductee | TV special |
| WWE LFG | Self | Season 1–2 |
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 | Video game debut | [64] |
| 2007 | WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 | [65] | |
| 2008 | WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 | [66] | |
| 2009 | WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 | [67] | |
| 2010 | WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 | [68] | |
| 2011 | WWE '12 | [69] | |
| 2024 | WWE 2K24 | Downloadable content | [70] |
| 2025 | WWE 2K25 | Legends Roster |
McCool was married to Jeremy Louis Alexander, whom she began dating in high school.[2][71][72] The couple divorced in 2006.[2] She married fellow wrestler Mark Calaway, known professionally asThe Undertaker, on June 26, 2010, inHouston,Texas.[73][74] Their first child together, their daughter Kaia, was born in August 2012.[75] They have a younger adopted son named Kolt.[76]
McCool is a devoutChristian,[77] and she incorporatedChristian crosses on her wrestling attire.[78]
She has had several wrestling-related injuries; in November 2007, she fractured her nose during an overseas WWE tour afterVictoria's clothesline hit her in the face.[79] She has been hospitalized twice, had two broken ribs, abroken sternum, and a brokenxiphoid process.[80] When she eventually decided to retire from active wrestling competition and thus left the WWE and ended her active career, she mentioned that her foot had been injured for two months prior with a broken toe, tornjoint capsules and a tornMCL.[81] In 2016 she was diagnosed with skin cancer, and underwent successful treatment.[82] In April 2019 she publicly disclosed she had struggled with infertility, and had suffered several miscarriages.[83]
first-ever Divas Tag Team Tables Match
millions of women, including myself, who struggle with infertility. [...] 13 rounds of IVF [...] & 3 miscarriages later
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