By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Insight With Chris Van Vliet with guest Kelly Kelly
Host: Chris Van Vliet
Podcast available via Podcasts.Apple.com
On missing WWE 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.”
On if it was a last-minute call: “It was. It was a last-minute call.”
Whether it would have been possible had the call come six months earlier: “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 were 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 weren’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.”
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