Layla (@mslayel) is a retired professional wrestler best known for her time in WWE. She sits down with Chris Van Vliet at West Coast Creative Studio in Los Angeles, CA to discuss why she has returned to wrestling conventions after being away for so long, why she left WWE in 2015, if she is open to one more match, how winning the Diva Search started her WWE journey, being paired with Michelle McCool, the infamous Piggy James storyline, how CM Punk came up with the name Lay-Cool, her and Michelle both winning the Women’s Championship, becoming a mom and more!
How does it feel being back out there again?
“I’m enjoying it. It’s different, and I think because I was gone for so long, people expect me to look like I did in 2015 when I retired. So it’s been a little bit hard, getting used to social media and hearing, ‘she looks different’ or stuff like that.”
Your break was almost 10 years, right? You retired from WWE in 2015. What made you step away from everything?
“If you look back, for me, I started in 2006, so I was there for nine years, and I’ve been traveling. I was never a part-time talent, I was always full-time, and we worked a lot at that time. I just was like, I’m 38, what am I gonna do? My looks, you get to the point, you don’t look the same, and I’m getting tired and worn out from just traveling all the time, stuff like that. Where was there really for me to go? I kind of did everything, and they were coming in with the new girls, younger, fresh. So I just was like, it’s just time to go. Then that’s what I did. I just made up my mind one day, I went in, and I just asked, ‘Can I have my release, please? I just want to go.'”
Had you been thinking about it for a while?
“No, I just literally [decided], honestly. Vince actually signed me to a new contract, and I don’t know, I just woke up and I was just like, it’s just time.”
What was the reaction when you asked to be released?
“I had to wait because I left. I didn’t even stay that day. I was just like, guys, I’m done.”
Do you remember what city it was?
“I want to say Oklahoma. It was Oklahoma. I mean, I have to look. It was in July 2015 I think it was in Oklahoma. I don’t know. I went to the gym that day, like I do before I get to the arena, and I was just like, I’m just done.”
Did you have a plan for what was next?
“No. I can’t explain it. It’s just such a hard grind, and I think when you’re with WWE, the thing is always to keep going, keep striving, keep asking for more, keep reaching, keep saying, I’ve still got one more run, I can do this, because you’re always fighting for a spot, and I was just like, what am I fighting for? I literally felt like I was like a hamster on the wheel, and I was just like, yeah, I’m done, it’s fine.”
Was the decision behind I’m gonna step away from wrestling and also step away from the public eye? We didn’t hear from you for almost 10 years, you didn’t go to wrestling events, you weren’t on social media, so what went into that decision?
“Honestly, after being there for nine years, it became my identity. So, for me, it was a decision that Layla, you’re not this person, you’re Layla. So, I really just wanted to come back to be me, instead of being Layla, WWE Diva, that kind of thing, and that’s the problem. Would it have been better if I had had a stage name like most wrestlers do? That might have been a bit better, but I think when you’re going by your own name, sometimes there’s a line, and I think for me that line was crossed around 2012. It got to the point where it was blurred. The line was blurred for me personally, and it was just good to step away from that.”
What made you come back?
“I think I wanted to come back out there and start working again.”
You don’t mean working by having matches?
“Oh God, no [laughs]. I meant just coming out there, working events and stuff like that. I left a lot of money on the table when I walked away. Because I still think that it’s nice to go to wrestling events, and like you were saying, the nostalgia and stuff like that. Since I’ve been gone for so long, it’s nice to go back.”
So, based on what we were just saying, you sound like you would never have another match.
“No, I’m too old, and I’m out of shape. I can’t say never, because I feel like if there was ever an opportunity for Michelle and I to do something like LayCool or something like that, of course. But not a run or anything. But if there was ever that opportunity, I think that would be so wrong of me not to do that. So to me, that would be the only thing I think I would come back for. But am I trying to have a match or anything like that right now? No. Sorry, no one wants to see it. I don’t want to embarrass myself, I don’t want to tarnish what I’ve had in my past career, kind of thing. So if I never come back, then I’ll just rather leave it the way it was.”
Was there ever an invite for you to be part of the Women’s Royal Rumble or Evolution?
“Yeah, actually, I got invited to a couple of [things]. I can’t remember exactly which ones, but the last time I think they invited me was in 2021, but I was pregnant.”
So would you want another opportunity somewhere in the future, if it was a one-off thing, an anniversary show or something like that?
“Maybe. Yeah, maybe I think so. If the offer comes in, I probably would say yes.”
Michelle McCool is now a Hall of Famer. Do you ever think that you might get inducted?
“I don’t think so.”
Maybe as LayCool?
“That would probably be the only way.”
Let’s rewind it back to how you even got here. So you’re part of the Diva Search, but how does this opportunity even get presented to you?
“So it was in 2006, I was a Miami Heat dancer at the time, so I’ve been there since 2004. Todd Grisham, his ex-wife at that time was working for WWE, Cassie, and she reached out to me, and I was like, I didn’t know what she was talking about, so I answered. We emailed a couple times, and then she sent me the audition date again, and I was just like, not gonna do it. I woke up one day, it was raining outside, and I was like, I’m gonna do it, let me get up to go to it. So I emailed her, she answered her email, and they’re like, the audition starts in an hour. Okay, I’m gonna make it. I can’t remember where it was, but it was like an hour’s driving. It’s hurricane season, so of course, stuck in traffic. I didn’t get there till I think two hours after it ended. But they gave me Jane’s number, Jane Liverson, and I’m still really good friends with her, and she waited for me. I was the last person in, and she’s like, okay, put me in the tent, and then with a camera. She’s like, ‘Okay, say your name, say something about you, and what you like, and who you are, and then take off your clothes, bikini, and we’ll take a video.’ So I was like, okay, did it, five minutes, and she’s like, thank you so much. Bye. I was like, that was it. I thought nothing of it.”
I think people might not remember this, but the Diva Search was not received well. You guys go out there and you are getting booed loudly.
“That was Miz’s fault, by the way. Honestly, when I look back now, I had no clue what I was getting into. I’m gonna be really honest with you, I didn’t watch wrestling like that. I thought it was just the stuff that you see on TV. I didn’t know it was a live show out there, and stuff like that. But Miz went out there and he said the wrong number. So that started them off. So, as soon as he did that, and I don’t think they liked Miz, I’m not saying anything against Miz. Miz is amazing, but I’m saying at that time I don’t think he was [liked].”
I think that people think that because we know that wrestling is predetermined, the diva search, that’s got to be predetermined too?
“Honestly, at that time, I wouldn’t know, because I didn’t know. Now that I have been in the business, I understand they don’t want to see the divas. Who cares? They don’t wrestle; they want to watch wrestlers. That’s how I wasn’t sure if the actual Diva Search was pushed on to the fans. But that was just that city we were in. Because there are other times we went to different cities, and they were receptive.”
Were you getting any wrestling training at the time?
“No, nothing.”
So, where did you end up training?
“On the road. My first match was with Kristal Marshall. I didn’t even know how to take a bump. So I had done a battle royal. Then it’s me and Kristal going into a battle with Miz. I went out there, and I forgot what I was doing, and every time I forgot what to do. She didn’t even get to use her finisher, she wanted that finisher so bad. I felt horrible that she had to work with me. Someone in the crowd’s like, “Your timing sucks!’ I was like, what is he talking about? So then after that, I think they were like, okay, we’re not going to put Layla on TV. Thank God that I could dance. So Johnny [Ace] was talking in the back, he wasn’t even referring to me, he was talking to someone about dancers. I went up and I went, ‘Johnny, I can dance, why don’t I do it?’ Because they wanted to do a group with Kelly Kelly, and he’s like, ‘No, Layla, you’re a Diva Search winner, we don’t want you for that.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, but Johnny, I can do it. I can do the choreography.’ And I just walked away. Next week it was all kind of booked up, and they put me in extreme expose.”
Who do you thank for training you as a wrestler?
“Fit Finlay, 100%. He trained us all. Fit Finlay trained all the girls; he had patience with us, he fought for us. I think he even fought for me to win the Women’s Championship the first time. I think he literally was like, she can do it. We used to get to live events super early, and then Fit would have diva sessions in there, and he would be like, ‘Nope, you’re wrestling like girls, wrestle like guys.’ He didn’t care. He treated us like the guys, and we would have Fit Finlay boot camp, and I’m telling you right now, thank goodness we had that, because if we didn’t have that. He believed in all of us, he really did, he supported us, and he was also the agent that all the girls would go to to cry and stuff like that, he was the guy. But Fit Finlay, I would say, without a doubt, 100%. I had other training, of course, but 100% Fit.”
Is it true that around that time in WWE you turned down Playboy?
“Yes. Well, actually, it wasn’t just me at first. So, what happened was we were called into the office, and it was Kelly Kelly, Brooke Adams, and myself. I think it was 2007, I think Maria actually did the cover, and they were like, we want to do extreme expose for Playboy, and I was like, no. I’m not too sure what they said, but then because I didn’t want to do extreme expose, they offered Kelly Kelly and myself individually, and I think they’d offered me like $250,000 to do it. I was like, no, I’m not doing it.”
Why’d you say no?
“Honestly, I was really scared, because a lot of people don’t know this, I’m Arab. So my actual family, I’m an immigrant in England, but I’m of Moroccan heritage. So I was concerned that my family, who were Muslim. I was always told don’t do anything like that, you can’t, so I was also very scared of what [they would think]. My brother would have been so mad. So that’s why I said no. I was just like, I think that’s going too far. What I’m doing already is a lot with them and all the modeling stuff. I’m glad I said no, because I really couldn’t see myself going through the shoot. But I’m also sad I said no, because I could have probably retired that year.”
Is it true that CM Punk gave you guys the name LayCool?
“Yeah, he did. He wasn’t even part of the conversation. That’s what’s so funny about it. Because Johnny or somebody, I can’t remember, was like, ‘Guys, you need a name? You’ve been together too long now, it’s getting ridiculous. You need a name.’ Punk was hanging out at the arena, and he just was like, ‘What are you guys doing?’ We had a piece of paper, and we were trying to write something. We’re like, we’re trying to think of a name. And then we were Cool-Lay, it was so stupid. And then he’s like, ‘LayCool?’ Then we’re like, yeah, that’s it. Punk just happened to be there. We were just in the corridor, I don’t know, just happened.”
How’d you guys even get paired up to begin with?
“Mickie was brought to SmackDown. Michelle and Mickie were going to go against each other; they first had Alicia Fox. If you noticed, she was out there doing matches with Michelle. They needed a filler, and they were like, Layla. So they would put me in there to be the filler so that they wouldn’t touch each other, and they’d save it for the pay-per-view. It just started like that. I was never supposed to be in LayCool, because I know that Stephanie McMahon wanted to do like a mean girl faction kind of thing, and I think it was definitely Michelle, and it was gonna be, I think, Alicia Fox, and then for some reason, me and Michelle working together, and just the chemistry, and just trust. She trusted me. She gave me so many opportunities, I don’t know, it just happened.”
You became co-champions. How was that pitched to you?
“It wasn’t. So the idea that I remember was it was going to be Vickie Guerrero. She used to come out with me and Michelle before. It was pitched that Vickie was going to win the title, just Vickie. So they needed the title to go on somebody else, but my gut was it was Fit Finlay that fought for me. I think it was him, because the day of, about maybe two hours before the show, like, Fit comes up and he’s like, ‘Congratulations, champ.’ I’m like, ‘Congratulations, champ?’ He goes, ‘You’re going to win a title.’ He was known for always ribbing everybody and just telling everybody, playing jokes. I’m thinking, what the hell is he talking about? I didn’t even listen. We went through the whole match, stuff like that. I’m waiting this entire time for them to be like, ‘Ha ha!’ Because he would do that, like he would make jokes on us and stuff like that, and it never happened. It just never happened. Went through the match, and I won the women’s championship. What? Co-women’s Champion? It was the biggest surprise to me. But if you even look at the crowd, it was in Beth Phoenix’s hometown, and there was no reaction. It was crickets. No one expected me to win that. It was perfect.”
Did they already have the plan that they were gonna cut the title in half, like friendship bracelet style?
“They didn’t know, because remember, they made up their mind that day. They made up their mind a few hours before the show. But Michelle was like, well, why don’t we do co-champions kind of thing? Because then it’s like we can have our friendship, blah blah, blah. Michelle fought for that and I fought for that, and that’s what happened, and nobody knew what was going to happen, and then it was actually Batista. One day we were rehearsing, and he came up and he was like, ‘Hey, I just told Vince, you guys just split the titles like you have with your necklaces.’ That’s how it happened.”
How did you feel about the Piggy James storyline when this is first presented to you?
“When we were told about the first, like, pre-tape, and then the actual segment, I was kind of shocked, to be honest with you. I was surprised, but at the same time, I was also like, oh wow, at least they’re investing in a diva segment. So they’re giving us some time, and they were giving us a storyline that meant a lot, regardless of what the storyline was, they were actually giving the girls a storyline. So I was grateful, but also kind of looking at Mickie, is she okay with this?”
Nobody believes that Mickie James is overweight.
“No, I know that. You got to remember, I think, especially in that time, in that era, it was like women, we were always made fun of. Our weight was so important to us, and there were certain things that we could get away with in that era that you could ever get away with now. So I think it was a very touchy story to some people, but I’m very glad that it happened, because it was the first time ever that divas got heat. They wanted to beat us up at live events, like literal women wanted to beat us up, like they really believed that we were, you know, and not only that, I think that, like, Mickie did amazing. That storyline, if you look at it, it was great, it was the first time the Divas section, especially on SmackDown, we had something.”
When you cut promos in WWE, you could maybe hear a little bit of a British accent, but I feel like it was like, ah, I can’t quite pinpoint it.
“So funny story about this, my first time ever being in England, standing by the ring, and then Michael Hayes comes out, and he’s like, ‘Hey, Vince didn’t even know you were from England’ I go, ‘What?’ He goes, ‘Yeah. I just told Vince that you’re from England, you should probably be in the segment. He goes, “No, she’s from Miami.”‘ So the whole time I didn’t know that I’ve been there, been there probably a year or something. And even Vince didn’t even know I was from England. Because that’s what I was pushed. I was pushed from Miami and stuff like that, and he probably thought it was a Latin accent, or who knows, right? He didn’t know. That’s why I was never billed from England.”
What do you think was the quickest time you had, curtain to curtain? So entrances, match, and then back.
“90 seconds.”
What do you think is the longest match you had in WWE?
“10 minutes.”
When did you start to feel that things were shifting, that the women were being given more of a chance?
“I knew it was coming because as I was actually leaving, Charlotte had been up there, I had a couple of matches with Charlotte on live events, and then they brought up Becky, they brought up Sasha. Because I was already told it was gonna be like a woman’s evolution coming up, so that’s when I realized it was just before, maybe about a few months before I quit.”
How’d you get paired with Fandango?
“I’m trying to think what happened. I think it was Triple H. Summer had to go do some TV or movie or something, and they were in a production meeting before the show, and someone was like, well, we need someone to dance with Fandango. He’s like Layla can dance, I think, and that was it.”
What is Layla grateful for?
“My daughter, I’m alive, and that I can live the life that I live.”
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