10 Wrestlers Audiences Weren't Ready For
8. Michelle McCool
Michelle McCool was told by her WWE paymasters and bosses on more than one occasion to "not wrestle like the men" and/or "wrestle like a girl".
Both lines are out there in the open, shared by McCool and many of her colleagues from an era consigned to the dustbin of Women's Wrestling thanks to the industry's deep-rooted institutional misogyny and WWE's active celebration of that fact for the 15 years that followed Sable's record breaking Playboy cover shoot.
Some of the performers weren't awesome at the craft, but nor were they required or asked to be. This didn't jive with McCool, who aimed to improve in the ring at a rate far beyond the other "athletic 10s" (WWE's specific verbatim remit as per Jim Ross and others) hired at the time.
The internal disinterest spread to the fans. McCool's best moments went largely underrated at her peak because audiences were taking a p*ss or buying popcorn as effectively instructed by the organisation.