Layla Recounts Her Initial Reaction To ‘Piggy James’ Storyline Pitch

Layla and Michelle McCool were the heels in WWE’s infamous “Piggie James” storyline, and Layla recently recalled her reaction to the pitch. The almost universally-disliked storyline grew out of the feud between LayCool and Mickie James, and had Layla and McCool in their “mean girl” gimmicks ridicule James for supposedly being overweight, despite the fact that she wasn’t.

The storyline earned intense pushback from fans at the time and has ever since. Layla recalled on Insight With Chris Van Vliet that she was shocked by it, but felt that at least a Diva’s segment was getting some time investment. You can see the highlights below:

Layla noted that she could feel the shift as she was getting ready to retire and was told it was on the way. She also recalled her pairing with Fandango in 2014. You can see the highlights below:

On Her Initial Reaction To the Pitch For the Storyline:

“When we were told about the first, like, pre-tape, and then the actual segment, I was kind of shocked, to be honest with you. I was surprised, but at the same time, I was also like, oh wow, at least they’re investing in a diva segment. So they’re giving us some time, and they were giving us a storyline that meant a lot, regardless of what the storyline was, they were actually giving the girls a storyline. So I was grateful, but also kind of looking at Mickie, is she okay with this?”

On How No One Believes Mickie James is Overweight:

“No, I know that. You got to remember, I think, especially in that time, in that era, it was like women, we were always made fun of. Our weight was so important to us, and there were certain things that we could get away with in that era that you could ever get away with now. So I think it was a very touchy story to some people, but I’m very glad that it happened, because it was the first time ever that divas got heat. They wanted to beat us up at live events, like literal women wanted to beat us up, like they really believed that we were, you know, and not only that, I think that, like, Mickie did amazing. That storyline, if you look at it, it was great, it was the first time the Divas section, especially on SmackDown, we had something.”