Former Divas Champion addresses possibility of WWE return
Former WWE star Layla El commented on the possibility of stepping foot in a wrestling ring, nearly a decade after retirement.
El told Chris Van Vliet on the latest edition of Insight Podcast that she has no plans to return to in-ring competition. However, she is open to a potential reunion with Michelle McCool for a special appearance but not in a full-time run capacity.
“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.”
El discussed her 2006 Diva Search win and how the workaround in WWE was different back then especially when it came to the women’s division. She credited Fit Finlay for training her as a wrestler, and fighting for her to win the Women’s Championship in 2010.
“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.”
El retired from wrestling in 2015 after a nearly decade long WWE career. While she has remained away from the spotlight since, the former Divas Champion has been appreciative of evolution in the women’s division.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.