Layla El On Her LayCool Run With Michelle McCool, Writing A Book
Layla El may largely be removed from the WWE product today, but she still has fond memories of her career there. A lot of them were standing alongside Michelle McCool in LayCool. The duo was a regular fixture on TV and found success together in the women's division. The former women's and Diva's champion goes as far as to say that her time in the team was the highlight of her career.
"I love Michelle," El said. "I would love to do a reunion for her and get back together for a signing maybe in Texas next year since that is where she lives. . Who knows. I would love to reunite. Even if it's for one day. I'm hoping and assuming a lot of people want to see us back together for at least an autograph signing.
"I will always be complimentary to Michelle. I will always admire her and respect her. She helped me so much. There wouldn't be LayCool without her. She took the time to help me out. Fit Finlay was also a huge part of it. But Michelle and I are bonded for life. No matter what happens, we are bonded for life. It was two-and-a-half years."
Reminiscing about the past, the retired superstar looks back at her "Loser Leaves WWE" match a decade ago at Extreme Rules. It would be McCool's last match as a full-time in-ring performer. McCool put over her bestie on the way out.
"She gave me that. She says here you go. That was the most touching thing I've experienced for a long time," El said. "I was really sad and didn't want to leave the ring. I walked to Gorilla and was waiting for Michelle to come back. I was emotional. [McCool's husband] Taker was standing right there. She came through the curtain. Taker said, 'I'll let you have your moment first.' We held each other crying. I get so emotional about it because it was the end of a great run. We weren't given much, but what we were given we made the most of for sure. I'll just remember that forever."
Doing appearances has given El a chance to reconnect with some of her past colleagues. Not too long ago she ran into Celeste (Kaitlyn).
"When we embraced, we had that bond," El said. "We share something that we experienced together. Seeing Brooke [Adams] the other day too. I haven't seen her in 10,12 years. It was nice to catch up. By doing these appearances I'm going to catch up with them. Maybe not everyone, but I'm able to do my rounds."
The former Miami Heat dancer turned pro wrestler revealed she has been spending time writing a book, sure to feature a number of stories involving those from her era. El is aiming to finish it this year.
"I'm such a perfectionist," she said. "Do I want to share this or that? I'm being a little timid, but I really want to write this book. It's not just about wrestling or a hate book or anything like that. It's just my life story. How I was all the way in London, Morocco and ended up being in America working for the biggest wrestling company in the world. I want to share the journey and some stuff backstage, good things, bad things, give people an idea of what I experienced. When I was working with WWE, and for you guys, what it was like in the Diva's era. And what I had to go through and experience that made us stronger and tougher."
Follow Layla El on Twitter @MSLayEl. You can find the full audio and video from Layla's interview below: