To mark the tenth anniversary of the first recognized WWE Diva Search, the subject of this week's "Face or Heel?" blog will be the most decorated Diva Search alum in WWE history, former two-time WWE Women's and Divas Champion Michelle McCool.
Face Michelle: Like a huge majority of Diva Search contestants, Michelle took on a babyface role in her debut in 2004. She was one of three Divas from that year's contest to debut on SmackDown, doing so as a "personal trainer." However, Michelle was put in the ring less than a year into her tenure; competing against villainous Divas such as Dawn Marie and Melina (in fact, she was Melina's first-ever opponent) before she was sent back down to developmental.
Michelle had two stints as a babyface, and it was her second one that she would be more notable for. She mainly served as the subject of a feud between Chuck Palumbo and Jamie Noble throughout 2007 and entering early 2008, but she received a huge elevation entering that summer. During that time, WWE instilled the Divas Championship for the women of the blue brand, and Michelle would become the first-ever Divas Champion when she defeated Natalya at The Great American Bash. Michelle held the brand-new title for the rest of the calendar year before she lost the belt to Maryse. Speaking of that match...
Heel Michelle: Many fans (myself included) best know Michelle for her lenghty runs as a villainous Diva, with two to her credit. In the summer of 2006, Michelle returned as a heel dressed like a "sexy teacher" and later became the valet to the Teacher's Pets. The trio feuded with Paul London and Brian Kendrick, as well as Ashley Massaro, for several months, until she suffered an injury that sidelined her for a long period of time. With the absence, Michelle's first stint as a heel came to an abrupt end.
Michelle was on the verge of turning into a villainess during the final weeks of 2008, with Maria Kanellis as the main Diva triggering her heel persona. Michelle's heel mentality started to show during a Divas Championship bout against Maria on November 14, and it appeared to grow after Maria accidentally caused her to be eliminated at Survivor Series. In a non-title rematch on December 5, Michelle seemed hell-bent on destroying Maria rather than winning, and she would end up being defeated. After giving a sinister snarl at her opponent, the evil Michelle kicked Maria in her gut; claiming that she "got what she deserved." I mentioned that Michelle lost the Divas Championship to Maryse three weeks later. The match was officiated by Maria, and after the final bell sounded, Michelle turned into a villainess and attacked Maria; clearly blaming her for the loss. A week later, Michelle would attack Eve Torres after pretending to apologize to her, and from what I saw in the segment, it appeared that Michelle would be portrayed as a twisted and vicious sociopath, which I was looking forward to. Sadly, I would be wrong.
Michelle's second stint as a villainess led to making history again when she captured the Women's Championship from Melina at The Bash, but months after that, she was paired with Layla, and that's when Lay-Cool began. As I have promised before, I will dedicate a separate blog solely to why I think the LayCool gimmick was a plague in the Divas Division, but all I'll say is that the gimmick ruined the heel characters of both women. Michelle continued to make history in her career; not only adding a second Women's Championship, but becoming the first ever Unified Divas Champion at Night of Champions (2010). When LayCool split in 2011, Michelle remained as a villainess (which I still think is a mistake), and it would lead to her losing to Layla at Extreme Rules (2011) in what would be her final match in WWE.
Despite the LayCool gimmick enveloping her career, I still prefer Heel Michelle over Face Michelle. Just like Layla, Michelle was a terrific villainess before the gimmick came about. Looking back, I enjoyed watching Michelle's slow villainous transformation in 2008 and how she really went after Maria in her matches. One of the things I loved about Michelle's babyface character was how she was portrayed as an "All-American Diva" in 2007 and 2008.
Face Michelle or Heel Michelle? Which do you prefer?