Michelle McCool Talks Royal Rumble Return, Undertaker Dropping Kayfabe After Retirement

Michelle McCool is set to return for the Royal Rumble, and she recently discussed her reasons for returning and more. McCool spoke with Busted Open Radio for a new interview and you can check out some highlights below, per Fightful and Wrestling Inc:

On returning for the Royal Rumble: “I got a phone call from talent relations right about Christmas time. John Cone called and said, ‘We’re doing a Rumble, just wanted to gauge and see if you had any interest in doing it.’ I thought, ‘Ooof, we’re about to go to Colorado for ten days, which sets me back in my training, uhhhh, let me think about it. I’m very honored and flattered, let me see.’

“I thought about it, talked it over with [Undertaker] and was like, ‘You don’t get this opportunity too much.’ I’m super grateful for it. It gives me a chance to show my daughter Kaia and son Colt that I’m a little scared, but you can be scared and still go out there and be brave and overcome challenges.’ That was the motivation behind it. I was like, ‘I’m gonna need your help and motivation, but mommy is scared. She knows he can do this, but I have to train hard, put in the work, let’s do it.’ That was my motivation.”

On Undertaker dropping kayfabe and opening up in public: “Now it has become a little bit more normal … I think Mark can attest to the fact that there is definitely Undertaker in Mark also. There’s a whole lot of Mark, but there’s also Undertaker in Mark in real life. Not with us, but when needs be.

“It was a little strange at first, you know when we filmed The Last Ride documentary, and people really getting a glimpse into who he was. I think it was such a treasured thing for so long that people were so interested in who the man behind the character was, and I think that’s special. It’s special for his fans after all these years to be able to see that.”