Michelle McCool

“It's not easy to always be yourself.”

“People can say what they want to say, but at the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror. I know how hard I fought. I know how many storylines I pitched. I know how hard I worked in the ring.”

“It's the all-American girl gone bad. Initially, the name callings from 6- and 7-year-olds was tough. My heart was in my stomach. But it is more fun to play someone that you are not.”

“Leaving was tough because it got to a point where - I was dealing with so much, mostly being Undertaker's girlfriend while I was on TV. There was even a writer who threw the papers up one day and said, 'Why don't we just call it the Michelle McCool and Undertaker show.'”

“The backstabbing, the clawing, it's always there. It definitely comes up more when you're on TV a little more often.”

“If I had to pick somebody I really had a crush on right now - solely based on looks alone - it would be Matthew McConaughey. He does it for me.”

“Retirement has been wonderful.”

“I think the Divas Champion is the perfect combination of athleticism, beauty and brawn.”

“I don't talk during production meetings, people don't generally say anything.”

“People are always going to say what they want to say and believe what they want to believe, but that's the bottom line.”

“I haven't noticed too much of a difference between Italian guys and American guys, but we're sports-entertainers so maybe they know to stand back a little!”

“So, I never actually had a problem with Melina and we worked a lot together. When she came to SmackDown, we worked a program together.”

“Sure, Maryse is the Divas Champion, but I find it no coincidence that she supposedly got 'hurt' the week after she stole my title.”

“The athletic part I never struggled with. It was the promos, the talking and, being uncomfortable in front of the crowd. Especially being a 'bad guy,' having people call me names, that was hard getting used to.”

“You just have to kind of remember that it's just a character on TV. A lot of times people just forgot that and it's easy to do.”

“I'm a collegiate All-American athlete and earned a master's degree in education from Florida State University.”

“Love me or hate me, I hope the WWE Universe can respect that night in and night out, I've given it my all.”

“I like to think of myself as a class act, and there are very few guys that meet all of my qualifications.”

“Bottom line: People in our business are always going to look to find reasons to see the negative in somebody and to become resentful.”

“That always makes it fun inside the ring when you know you can work with somebody. You can fly off the cuff while you're in there; you can improvise.”