Michelle McCool recently spoke about working with Melina and more. Here are the highlights…
Coming Up: "I guess Melina and I came in around the same time, because her guys are the ones that put me out with their finisher so that I could train at Deep South [Wrestling] for a little bit longer. We've started around the same time in WWE, but obviously she's been in the business longer."
Melina's Reputation: "Throughout her career, she may have had some run-ins or problems with a lot of people backstage. Personally, I was never one of them. All of the things that she supposedly had done or whatever issues were going on, I was not a part of that. So, I didn't have a problem with her. That's not my business -- I try to stay out of people's business, if it doesn't personally affect me, then I don't really need to get into the drama!"
Working with Melina: "So, I never actually had a problem with Melina and we worked a lot together. When she came to SmackDown, we worked a program together. We had a match at the Pay-Per-View, Night of Champions. There, we put a mark on things -- we totally got in trouble!"
Punished For Being Good: "We got in trouble for our match at Night of Champions. We got in trouble for our match being quote-on-quote "too good... for girls." So, I don't care how much I get in trouble if that's what I'm getting in trouble for. It started where I dropped kicked her on her slipt-entrance to the mat -- crazy, crazy bump -- which she was always game for. The crazier, the better! We always worked well with each other, always wanted to come up with something different; some new way to come out of her moves, get into one of my moves, something you don't always see the girls do."
Pushing the Envelope: "It was that day [Night of Champions] I was like: "could you not tell anybody, but do you think we could do a DDT on the barricade?" And she was like: "Ohhhh! Yeah!!!" -- Not even thinking twice about it. We kind of hid it all day, even though we did ask our agent for approval, I think it was Fit -- which is no secret that he was always fighting for the girls. We just made sure that we can stand up and get our balance, but we never actually did the bump. She was the one who was going to take the huge bump, and there was no doubt, no hesitation, that she would make it look ridiculous -- and it did! [During the match] She finally takes the bump, it looks sick, pops off -- up to that point, that was the best match I've ever had. We had the pay-per-view, we had time, I was really proud of that match."
Big Time Trouble: "The next day, one of the agents came up to us and was like: "I can't believe y'all did that! You have no idea! We were all backstage, scared to death!" We were like: "...What? We know how to safely bump. We wouldn't do anything that would put either one of us at risk. We're totally fine! If the men can do it, why can't we do it?" He said: "It looked too good! You can't go out there throwing punches like that, or taking bumps like that -- that looks better than some of the guys! You can't do that!" Finally, I remember Chris Jericho, who was by the ring, hears all of this going on. He said: "Look, if the guys can't follow what the girls are doing, then the guys need to step it up! I thought it was awesome. They did great. And it's not their problem that it looked that great!" I was like... "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Because out of respect, we can't say anything, and here comes one of the boys -- Jericho, of all people, sticking up for us!"
Trouble before: "Off topic, But Lisa [Tara/Victoria] and I got in trouble before, too. After finishing our match, Lisa comes into the locker room, and I've already changed, I'm in my business/casual, ready to leave the arena, and she comes in and says: "Get dressed! We have to go out there and do the match again!" I'm like: "What?! You're always joking, always ribbing..." She goes: "No!! I swear!! The punches we threw on the turnbuckle, we can't throw them -- they look too good!" So, we went out and we had to re-do our whole entire match. That's just like me and Melina getting in trouble."
OK. One Backstage Altercation: "I've never personally had a problem with her, but towards the end of my career, there was one little incident. People wanna know: this is the "juicy, juicy details" of the Michelle and Melina problem! We were in the locker room and it was one of those Halloween deals. All of the girls were dressed, and literally ten minutes before we're all going out, nobody has a clue what is going on. Nobody is giving us finishers, nobody has no idea what is going on. So, we're bouncing ideas, and I remember it was me, The Bellas, and Melina... I can't remember who may or may have not been in there. I do remember throwing an idea out there and it was Brie or Nicole who said, "Yeah. That sounds like a cool idea," then there's Melina, who just kind of rolls her eyes and huffs. Her back is to me, but I'm like: "Melina, if you don't like the idea, just tell me what you want to do -- I'll do it. I don't care." She says: "Nope. That's fine." So I say: "Well, we're in a room full of mirrors. The next time you want to roll your eyes, you might want to kinda not do it in a room full of mirrors." That's the biggest problem I've ever had with Melina! Isn't that just awful?! ...I hope you can hear the sarcasm in my voice. It's the silliest thing ever, obviously. We got over it, but it was kind of humorous. So, that was my only Melina run-in right there. Honest to God, nothing else between us... but a bunch of good matches."
