Posted on 9/04/125 by Colin Vassallo
Former WWE Superstar Kelly Kelly sat down with Chris Van
Vliet at West Coast Creative Studio in Los Angeles, CA to
discuss a possible return to WWE, why she turned down the
invitation to appear at Evolution, teaming with Maria
Menounos at WrestleMania 28, defending the World Heavyweight
Championship with Edge, dream matches with current members
of the roster, and more!
On missing Evolution 2:
“I wanted to talk about this, because it was a thing. So
when I got the call, it was in Atlanta, obviously. Again, it
was one of the weekends, the only weekend I had off, and my
kids, I think they had something going on. And I feel like
when I come back, I want my kids to see me there and they
wouldn’t have been able to make it. I don’t know. There were
just a lot of different things that were kind of keeping me
from going. Of course, you read the dirt sheets and this is
another thing. Somebody on the dirt sheets was like, ‘Oh,
somebody in the higher ups said that she only wants to come
back if she has a match,’ which could not have been farther
from the truth. I didn’t need a match to come back. If it
was in LA, I would have been there no questions asked. But
to fly across the country to do that, like I said in the
beginning, with my kids, I’m very picky about what I say yes
and no to right now. Maybe when they’re six or seven, and
they’re grown or bigger and stuff like that, then I probably
would have done it. But it’s just, like I said, that was the
one weekend I had off. I didn’t want to get them on a plane
and do this. There was just a bunch of different things.”
Was it a last-minute call?
“It was. It was a last-minute call.”
So it would have been possible if the call came six months
ago?
“Probably. I would have been able to clear everything and
make sure. I think my husband had to work that weekend too,
so then I was gonna have to figure out my nanny situation.
Like I said, if it was on the West Coast, I could have made
it work. I could have figured something out. But my husband
was having to work, he’s an engineer. He’s building the
underground subways here in LA, and they were doing a night
thing, so he was having to work. It was just a lot, and
that’s the thing, it had nothing to do with wanting a
singles match. WWE knows exactly why I said no, and they
were totally [fine with it]. They were like, ‘When we’re in
LA, you’ll be there?’ And I’m like, Yes, I will be there. So
that was never a conversation like, ‘Kelly has to come back,
she has to be in a match.’ Never, never. And it’s like, they
[dirt sheets] said, ‘Oh well, the higher up said she hasn’t
been in the ring in 13 years.’ When I’ve done battle royals
and stuff, I’ve gotten the call a week before, and I got in
the ring and I wrestled every day. So it has nothing to do
with that. Everybody that I talked to in WWE knows the
reason. So it’s just like for people to come out and be
like, ‘Oh, she thinks she’s better than sitting in the
crowd, and she thinks that she deserves a match.’ No, I
would have gladly [appeared in the crowd]. When they came
for the Netflix thing. I wanted to go to that, because it
was in LA. So it’s just different circumstances that happen,
and life, right? At the end of the day, I have to thank WWE
for my career. They’re who made me, I wouldn’t have the
career that I have if it wasn’t for them. I am so
appreciative of them. That’s why I signed a legends deal,
and that’s why I still come back all the time. But yeah, I
think hopefully a few years down the line, when my kids will
be able to sit next to me if I’m in the crowd, and cheer me
on.”
On defending the World Heavyweight Championship with Edge:
“I don’t think I realized at the time how people [talked
about it]. They were like, No, you were the only woman to
defend the World Heavyweight Title in a match like that. It
was a big deal, and I remember when they brought the idea to
me, I think the night before I found out that I was doing I
was like, Oh my gosh, I think we main evented that, which
was really cool, too. And then they told me, Well you’re
getting fired that night. So Michael Hayes, this is such a
funny story. The day of, they were like, ‘Okay, you have all
these pre-tapes, you’re gonna end up winning at the end, but
then Vickie’s gonna come out and she’s gonna fire you, and
you need to cry. I need you to cry on command. Can you cry
on command, Kelly?’ I’m like, ‘I guess?’ He was like, ‘If
you don’t cry, it’s all gonna go to sh*t. The fans need to
feel this. They really need to feel like you’re fired.’ I’m
like, Oh my gosh. I’m getting goose bumps thinking about it,
because I had so much pressure. The match was so intricate,
there was so many things in it. So right before going out,
Michael Hayes was like, ‘You’re crying. You got this.’ So I
told Michelle and Layla, I said, ‘Okay, I need you to beat
the sh*t out of me. I really need you to lay it in.’ Because
I can internalize it, and I can hold it all in until it’s
time for me to cry. I’ve done it before. So I was like,
okay, I can do this. So they were like, Okay. So in that
match, all that sh*t that they’re hitting me with, they’re
laying that in. And I was like, Okay, I was building up. I
was like, Okay, I’m gonna be able to do it. So I just
remember doing the spear and just being so happy. And I just
was like holding it in, because I knew she was coming out.
Then as soon as she’s like, ‘You’re fired!’ It was like the
ugliest cry you could cry. It was so good. I was like, Yes,
I’m doing it. The eyelashes and mascara is coming down. So I
go to the back, and they’re like yay! So it was really
good.”
On dream matches on the current roster:
“Oh, there’s so many amazing women. I love Charlotte, I
think she’s amazing. I think Tiffany is amazing. Chelsea
Green, I just love that she’s bringing the Divas kind of era
back a little bit. It’s so cool to see that.”