WWE has been more aggressive about inducting Divas from the 1990s-2000s into the Hall of Fame as of late -- Sunny, Trish Stratus, and Lita have all gotten in, and given Brock Lesnar's standing with the company, Sable can't be too far behind. Still, there are a limited number of women who have really connected as top stars in WWE, and when that pool is depleted, we'll reach the women WWE simply want us to think were at that level. That's where Michelle McCool comes into the picture. It's hard to remember now, but from 2008 to 2010, McCool was the centerpiece of the division, winning the Women's Championship and becoming the first-ever Divas' Champion. Her matches and programs weren't any good, but while she and Layla El (collectively known as LayCool) teased Mickie James about alleged weight gain, we were forced to listen to announcers praise her improvement and athleticism. JBL would even refer to her as a future Hall of Famer. It doesn't hurt, of course, that McCool is married to Mark Calaway -- The Undertaker. Being politically connected is important in WWE, and while there's no doubt McCool worked hard, so have hundreds of other talents who never got much of a chance. In the end, she gets to be the one giving a Hall of Fame speech to silence.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
