Life in and out of the ring
By ANDREA ASUAJE

Michelle McCool is a Diva, but only to the rest of the world.

“My life’s not really completely different,” McCool said.

The 30-year-old Palatka native, known internationally as half of the reigning WWE Women’s Champion team and a WWE Diva, said it’s hard for her to see the celebrity others see in her.

In McCool’s eyes, the important stuff has stuck around: Family, friends, passions and herself.

“I’m still the same person,” she said. “I just happen to be on TV now.”

McCool grew up in Palatka watching the WWE with her father and grandfather — her favorite nights of the week, she said.

“They were the only nights I was allowed to stay up late,” she said.

In school, McCool was always an athlete, participating in volleyball, softball and basketball, she said. Competition was always in her blood, she said.

“It’s in our genes,” she said of competition and the McCools.

She continued to watch the programs as she grew up, taking her interest in the industry with her to Florida State University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in exercise science, and onto her teaching career at Jenkins Middle School.

She got her master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of North Florida the first year she taught 7th grade science at the middle school.

She loved teaching, she said, describing how rewarding it is to reach out to help young people — a trait she still considers important in her new career.

All the while she was still a fan of the WWE.

And then, the competition bug struck.

‘Fish out of water’

McCool said she didn’t tell anyone she was entering the WWE Diva Search. She said she took some “unprofessional” pictures at Ravine State Gardens, and before she knew it, she was on television.

She called herself a “fish out of water” in the competition.

But despite losing the competition, she was declared a Diva.

Since 2004, McCool has participated in Smackdown, RAW and the Women’s Championship.

She’s also made an appearance on “Project Runway,” where a designer created a stage costume especially for her.

She often wears crosses on her uniform, a testament to her Christian beliefs, she said. With a worldwide audience, this is a way for McCool to spread her own religious message to her fans.

“I am a Christian,” she said. “(The WWE) is such a platform to reach out to millions and millions of people. If you can make a difference in one life…”

And she wants her fans to know that despite her sometimes playing a villain or a bad girl, she’s just a regular girl.

“I’m real,” she said. “I’m genuine.”

Life in Texas ‘private’

Putting aside the glittered costumes, the championship belts and the on-stage persona, life is not all glitz for the WWE Championship Diva.

McCool said her days consist of washing laundry, unpacking, repacking and traveling.

She spends more than 300 days a year on the road, she said.

“Most of the time I’m in the airport,” she said. “Not quite as glamorous as it seems.”

She said her life as a Texas resident is quiet and private.

Although she’s recognized on occasion, she leads a typical life, she said. And most of the time, she’s working.

Still, she said she tries to find time to return to Palatka to visit her family, who she said has supported her through her climb to stardom.

“I’ve always had my family,” she said. “They’re my biggest fans.”

And as much as she loves the spotlight and glamour of her job, McCool said that sometimes she dreams of just sitting on the beach, relaxing without a care in the world.

“Doing absolutely nothing all day,” she said.

She may be a TV superstar, but McCool still feels like a hometown girl.

“I still don’t think I’m anybody,” she said. “I’m the same old Michelle McCool.”

Her life: The ring, Project Runway, charity events

The WWE Divas are the female stars of World Wrestling Entertainment. The women wrestle, appear in WWE promotional material and often pose for Playboy, although she hasn’t.

Michelle McCool became a Diva in 2004. In 2008, McCool became the inaugural WWE Divas champion, declared at The Great American Bash. She won the WWE Women’s Championship, along with Layla El, at The Bash in 2009.

McCool also appeared alongside five other Divas in an episode of Project Runway, where the competing designers created outfits for the women to wear while wrestling. She’s also appeared with other WWE Divas and wrestlers on five episodes of Family Feud.

Aside from television appearances, McCool said she and the other Divas participate in charity events, such as Make-a-Wish projects, and reading challenges for children.

Roots run deep in Palatka

Michelle McCool isn’t the first McCool to influence young minds as a teacher and a role model.

Her mother and father, Jenny and Terry McCool, were both involved in the Putnam County school system, with her mother as a teacher and her father as the former superintendent of Putnam County schools.

Athletics also run in the family, with her older brother Jeff McCool as a former football player for the University of Cincinnati and her uncle Jim McCool as the former head football coach of Palatka High School.

Her aunt is also the supervisor of elections for Putnam County.

♥ “Life in and out of the ring” by Andrea Asuaje