WWE Star Has Surprisingly Not Been Contacted for Evolution
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As WWE prepares for its second all-women's premium live event, Evolution, fans are speculating about which legends might make a surprise appearance. However, one WWE Hall of Famer has confirmed that as of now, she has not been asked to be part of the show.
Michelle McCool took to social media to address fans who were hoping to see her compete in the event's high-stakes battle royal. Her response indicates she is not currently scheduled to be in Atlanta for the July 13th show.
Michelle McCool Says WWE Hasn't Called
On X, a fan urged Michelle McCool to "pick up the phone" and get herself booked in the battle royal at Evolution. In a direct reply, McCool shot down the idea that she was holding out, stating that WWE simply has not reached out to her.
McCool responded to the fan, "Hasn't rang!" This simple but clear statement seems to confirm she will not be one of the surprise entrants in the battle royal, where the winner will earn a future championship match.
A History Of Surprise Returns
McCool's potential involvement was a popular topic among fans due to her history of making surprise returns. Since retiring from full-time competition in 2011, she has made several popular one-off appearances in WWE.
DORTMUND, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 01: Natalya competes in the ring against Shotzi during the WWE Live Show at Westfalenhalle on November 1, 2022 in Dortmund, Germany.
DORTMUND, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 01: Natalya competes in the ring against Shotzi during the WWE Live Show at Westfalenhalle on November 1, 2022 in Dortmund, Germany.
She has been a frequent surprise entrant in the Women's Royal Rumble match, competing in the 2018, 2022, and 2023 editions of the match, which created an expectation that she would be a likely candidate for the Evolution battle royal.
She has remained involved with the company in other ways as well. McCool currently serves as a coach on the second season of the A&E series WWE LFG, alongside her husband, The Undertaker.
More news: WWE News: Steve Austin Reveals Real-Life Vince McMahon Confrontation
Michelle McCool's Trailblazing Career
Michelle McCool is one of the most decorated and important competitors of her era. She made history by becoming the first-ever WWE Divas Champion in 2008. She later unified that title with the original WWE Women's Championship, making her the first person in history to have held both belts.
Her dominant heel run alongside Layla as the team "LayCool" was a top act on SmackDown for years. In recognition of her trailblazing career, McCool was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025.
While she appears to be sitting this event out, the Evolution card is still loaded, with Trish Stratus challenging Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women's Championship and Iyo Sky defending her Women's World Championship against Rhea Ripley.
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San Francisco Chronicle
14 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Hulk Hogan's greatest moments in professional wrestling 'run wild on you'
Hulk Hogan's back had weakened, a failed early attempt at slamming all 525 pounds of Andre the Giant left the 'Immortal One" unsteady as the World Wrestling Federation champion once more needed to rally to beat another of wrestling's baddest bad guys. Andre wrapped his tree-trunk arms around the champ and tried to wring the final breaths out of Hogan with a bear hug so tight that more than 90,000 fans in Detroit almost witnessed the final day of Hulkamania. This was Hulk Hogan. Wrestling's biggest star had more late comebacks than fellow 1980s sports stars John Elway or Michael Jordan combined. Hogan had some gas left in the tank, some extra bite in those 24-inch pythons, and hammered away at Andre. One right hand, then another one, and another! Wrestling fans roared as they knew the bad news that was coming for Andre. Hogan fought back — much as he did against those 1980s baddies out of the Cold War or Iran — and finally body-slammed Andre the Giant. Hogan hit the hopes and delivered his famous leg drop on Andre's chest to get the three count. Hulk Hogan won again at WrestleMania. He always won, of course. It's what the story called for and there was no reason for WWF owner and pro wrestler puppeteer Vince McMahon to ever deviate from the plan of Hulkamania running wild. Why would he? Hogan had the hulking size, the charisma and catchphrases — 'What'cha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you?' — that led the industry out of gyms and regional arenas and into NFL stadiums, like that 1987 night when Hogan beat Andre at the Pontiac Silverdome in WrestleMania III. 'There he is,' announcer Gorilla Monsoon said, as Hogan played to the crowd, 'the greatest professional athlete in the world today.' Whether you break out an eye roll or crank up Hogan's ' Real American ' anthem to that statement depends, of course, on one's ability to suspend disbelief. There is no denying, though, just how real Hogan's impact was on professional wrestling and pop culture in the 1980s. He stood toe-to-toe with Rocky Balboa. He fought side-by-side with Mr. T. He hosted 'Saturday Night Live' and flexed on the cover of Sports Illustrated. 'He did what he set out to do,' WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter said Friday by phone. 'He became the most recognized, not only professional wrestler and sports entertainer in the world, he's probably top-five of anybody you'd recognize when you saw him.' WWE has long claimed the paid attendance of WrestleMania III was 93,173, a number some historians claim is as artificially inflated as the chemically-enhanced biceps of that era. What can't be disputed, when the two had their match in 1988, live on national television, more than 33 million fans tuned in to NBC, still far and away the record for largest viewing audience in American televised wrestling. Making money and moving merch. That was the real power of Hulkamania. Hogan, who died Thursday in Florida at age 71, left behind more than three decades of memorable matches that captured the spirit of those little Hulkamaniacs to the ones that loved to hate him in the 1990s as 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan in the New World Order. Here are some of his best moments. He beat the Sheik Hogan wasn't some upstart when he returned to the WWF (now WWE) in late 1983. He tested the waters of Hulkamania in the old American Wrestling Alliance and made his famous appearance as Thunderlips in 'Rocky III,' when was beckoned back to WWE and became an instant contender to face the champion, the hated Iron Sheik. Hogan broke out of the dreaded camel clutch and pinned the Sheik to become the new champion on Jan. 23, 1984, at Madison Square Garden — the building paid tribute to Hogan on Thursday night — and set the course for Hulkamania. He was champion for 1,474 days before losing to Andre in 1988. Slamming Andre Back before the internet spilled behind-the-scenes secrets, and there was easy access to watch wrestling around the globe, WWE created its own version of wrestling history. If the company said Andre the Giant had never been slammed, and had never been pinned over a 15-year undefeated streak, then it was believed to be true (neither were, of course). Yet, the faux hype set the stage for the match that changed wrestling forever. 'Andre the Giant was a momentum-shifting moment where he passed his torch,' Hogan said in a 2009 interview with the AP. 'He was like the icing on the cake. Once he blessed me, it was up to me to mold that business and carry it through.' You can call this the New World Order of wrestling, brother By 1996, Hogan's good-guy, beats-the-odds character had grown stale as he made the shift from WWE to Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling. Hogan even started to get booed as wrestling fans clamored for a new direction, a new star on top. They got one. 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan. For weeks, two former WWE stars had 'invaded' WCW and claimed they were taking over the company. That led to a six-man tag-team match where the two outsiders, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, promised a third man to help with their cause. No one showed to help the two until the end, when Hogan walked out in his red-and-yellow attire, and stunned the crowd when he put the leg drop on Randy Savage. Hogan was third man. He ditched his traditional colors for black-and-white, sunglasses, dark facial hair and embraced the 'Hollywood' heel persona. Much as he did a decade earlier, Hogan led WCW to new heights and the company would defeat WWE in the TV ratings for 83 straight weeks in what would be known as the 'Monday Night Wars.' Hogan lost as much as he won without his Hulkamania powers. He still moved the needle where it mattered most and made WCW must-see TV every Monday night. It's icon vs. icon against The Rock With WCW out of business and bought by McMahon, Hogan kept a low profile until he made a comeback with WWE in 2002. He returned with Hall and Nash as the NWO but at this point, WWE fans wanted their old Hulkster back. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was WWE's baby-faced crowd favorite when he met the villainous Hogan at WrestleMania in an 'Icon vs. Icon' match in WrestleMania in 2002. One problem, the Toronto crowd decided to back Hogan. 'When we hit the ring, 70,000 loyal people didn't want to hate Hulk Hogan,' Hogan said in 2009. 'Everybody kind of started to panic and I just said, 'Brother, stick with me and I'll get you through this.'' After the match, the cheers for Hogan called for a last-second change of plans, with his former NWO allies running down to attack him. The Rock helped Hogan fight off the NWO and the two men posed together to riotous cheers. 'As I raised his hand and said he's the greatest wrestler in the world, they had to turn me back red and yellow immediately,' Hogan said. 'It's kind of interesting, that was going to be the nail in my coffin. It turned out to be the fountain of youth for me.'
Fox Sports
14 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Hulk Hogan's greatest moments in professional wrestling 'run wild on you'
Associated Press Hulk Hogan's back had weakened, a failed early attempt at slamming all 525 pounds of Andre the Giant left the 'Immortal One" unsteady as the World Wrestling Federation champion once more needed to rally to beat another of wrestling's baddest bad guys. Andre wrapped his tree-trunk arms around the champ and tried to wring the final breaths out of Hogan with a bear hug so tight that more than 90,000 fans in Detroit almost witnessed the final day of Hulkamania. But, wait! This was Hulk Hogan. Wrestling's biggest star had more late comebacks than fellow 1980s sports stars John Elway or Michael Jordan combined. Hogan had some gas left in the tank, some extra bite in those 24-inch pythons, and hammered away at Andre. One right hand, then another one, and another! Wrestling fans roared as they knew the bad news that was coming for Andre. Hogan fought back — much as he did against those 1980s baddies out of the Cold War or Iran — and finally body-slammed Andre the Giant. Hogan hit the hopes and delivered his famous leg drop on Andre's chest to get the three count. Hulk Hogan won again at WrestleMania. He always won, of course. It's what the story called for and there was no reason for WWF owner and pro wrestler puppeteer Vince McMahon to ever deviate from the plan of Hulkamania running wild. Why would he? Hogan had the hulking size, the charisma and catchphrases — 'What'cha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you?' — that led the industry out of gyms and regional arenas and into NFL stadiums, like that 1987 night when Hogan beat Andre at the Pontiac Silverdome in WrestleMania III. 'There he is,' announcer Gorilla Monsoon said, as Hogan played to the crowd, 'the greatest professional athlete in the world today.' Whether you break out an eye roll or crank up Hogan's ' Real American ' anthem to that statement depends, of course, on one's ability to suspend disbelief. There is no denying, though, just how real Hogan's impact was on professional wrestling and pop culture in the 1980s. He stood toe-to-toe with Rocky Balboa. He fought side-by-side with Mr. T. He hosted 'Saturday Night Live' and flexed on the cover of Sports Illustrated. 'He did what he set out to do,' WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter said Friday by phone. 'He became the most recognized, not only professional wrestler and sports entertainer in the world, he's probably top-five of anybody you'd recognize when you saw him.' WWE has long claimed the paid attendance of WrestleMania III was 93,173, a number some historians claim is as artificially inflated as the chemically-enhanced biceps of that era. What can't be disputed, when the two had their match in 1988, live on national television, more than 33 million fans tuned in to NBC, still far and away the record for largest viewing audience in American televised wrestling. Making money and moving merch. That was the real power of Hulkamania. Hogan, who died Thursday in Florida at age 71, left behind more than three decades of memorable matches that captured the spirit of those little Hulkamaniacs to the ones that loved to hate him in the 1990s as 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan in the New World Order. Here are some of his best moments. He beat the Sheik Hogan wasn't some upstart when he returned to the WWF (now WWE) in late 1983. He tested the waters of Hulkamania in the old American Wrestling Alliance and made his famous appearance as Thunderlips in 'Rocky III,' when was beckoned back to WWE and became an instant contender to face the champion, the hated Iron Sheik. Hogan broke out of the dreaded camel clutch and pinned the Sheik to become the new champion on Jan. 23, 1984, at Madison Square Garden — the building paid tribute to Hogan on Thursday night — and set the course for Hulkamania. He was champion for 1,474 days before losing to Andre in 1988. Slamming Andre Back before the internet spilled behind-the-scenes secrets, and there was easy access to watch wrestling around the globe, WWE created its own version of wrestling history. If the company said Andre the Giant had never been slammed, and had never been pinned over a 15-year undefeated streak, then it was believed to be true (neither were, of course). Yet, the faux hype set the stage for the match that changed wrestling forever. 'Andre the Giant was a momentum-shifting moment where he passed his torch,' Hogan said in a 2009 interview with the AP. 'He was like the icing on the cake. Once he blessed me, it was up to me to mold that business and carry it through.' You can call this the New World Order of wrestling, brother By 1996, Hogan's good-guy, beats-the-odds character had grown stale as he made the shift from WWE to Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling. Hogan even started to get booed as wrestling fans clamored for a new direction, a new star on top. They got one. 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan. For weeks, two former WWE stars had 'invaded' WCW and claimed they were taking over the company. That led to a six-man tag-team match where the two outsiders, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, promised a third man to help with their cause. No one showed to help the two until the end, when Hogan walked out in his red-and-yellow attire, and stunned the crowd when he put the leg drop on Randy Savage. Hogan was third man. He ditched his traditional colors for black-and-white, sunglasses, dark facial hair and embraced the 'Hollywood' heel persona. Much as he did a decade earlier, Hogan led WCW to new heights and the company would defeat WWE in the TV ratings for 83 straight weeks in what would be known as the 'Monday Night Wars.' Hogan lost as much as he won without his Hulkamania powers. He still moved the needle where it mattered most and made WCW must-see TV every Monday night. It's icon vs. icon against The Rock With WCW out of business and bought by McMahon, Hogan kept a low profile until he made a comeback with WWE in 2002. He returned with Hall and Nash as the NWO but at this point, WWE fans wanted their old Hulkster back. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was WWE's baby-faced crowd favorite when he met the villainous Hogan at WrestleMania in an 'Icon vs. Icon' match in WrestleMania in 2002. One problem, the Toronto crowd decided to back Hogan. 'When we hit the ring, 70,000 loyal people didn't want to hate Hulk Hogan,' Hogan said in 2009. 'Everybody kind of started to panic and I just said, 'Brother, stick with me and I'll get you through this.'' After the match, the cheers for Hogan called for a last-second change of plans, with his former NWO allies running down to attack him. The Rock helped Hogan fight off the NWO and the two men posed together to riotous cheers. 'As I raised his hand and said he's the greatest wrestler in the world, they had to turn me back red and yellow immediately,' Hogan said. 'It's kind of interesting, that was going to be the nail in my coffin. It turned out to be the fountain of youth for me.' ___ AP sports:
Hamilton Spectator
15 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Hulk Hogan's greatest moments in professional wrestling ‘run wild on you'
Hulk Hogan's back had weakened, a failed early attempt at slamming all 525 pounds of Andre the Giant left the 'Immortal One' unsteady as the World Wrestling Federation champion once more needed to rally to beat another of wrestling's baddest bad guys. Andre wrapped his tree-trunk arms around the champ and tried to wring the final breaths out of Hogan with a bear hug so tight that more than 90,000 fans in Detroit almost witnessed the final day of Hulkamania. But, wait! This was Hulk Hogan . Wrestling's biggest star had more late comebacks than fellow 1980s sports stars John Elway or Michael Jordan combined. Hogan had some gas left in the tank, some extra bite in those 24-inch pythons, and hammered away at Andre. One right hand, then another one, and another! Wrestling fans roared as they knew the bad news that was coming for Andre. Hogan fought back — much as he did against those 1980s baddies out of the Cold War or Iran — and finally body-slammed Andre the Giant . Hogan hit the hopes and delivered his famous leg drop on Andre's chest to get the three count. Hulk Hogan won again at WrestleMania. He always won, of course. It's what the story called for and there was no reason for WWF owner and pro wrestler puppeteer Vince McMahon to ever deviate from the plan of Hulkamania running wild . Why would he? Hogan had the hulking size, the charisma and catchphrases — 'What'cha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you?' — that led the industry out of gyms and regional arenas and into NFL stadiums, like that 1987 night when Hogan beat Andre at the Pontiac Silverdome in WrestleMania III. 'There he is,' announcer Gorilla Monsoon said, as Hogan played to the crowd, 'the greatest professional athlete in the world today.' Whether you break out an eye roll or crank up Hogan's ' Real American ' anthem to that statement depends, of course, on one's ability to suspend disbelief. There is no denying, though, just how real Hogan's impact was on professional wrestling and pop culture in the 1980s. He stood toe-to-toe with Rocky Balboa. He fought side-by-side with Mr. T. He hosted 'Saturday Night Live' and flexed on the cover of Sports Illustrated. 'He did what he set out to do,' WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter said Friday by phone. 'He became the most recognized , not only professional wrestler and sports entertainer in the world, he's probably top-five of anybody you'd recognize when you saw him.' WWE has long claimed the paid attendance of WrestleMania III was 93,173, a number some historians claim is as artificially inflated as the chemically-enhanced biceps of that era. What can't be disputed, when the two had their match in 1988, live on national television, more than 33 million fans tuned in to NBC, still far and away the record for largest viewing audience in American televised wrestling. Making money and moving merch. That was the real power of Hulkamania. Hogan, who died Thursday in Florida at age 71, left behind more than three decades of memorable matches that captured the spirit of those little Hulkamaniacs to the ones that loved to hate him in the 1990s as 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan in the New World Order. Here are some of his best moments. He beat the Sheik Hogan wasn't some upstart when he returned to the WWF (now WWE) in late 1983. He tested the waters of Hulkamania in the old American Wrestling Alliance and made his famous appearance as Thunderlips in 'Rocky III,' when was beckoned back to WWE and became an instant contender to face the champion, the hated Iron Sheik. Hogan broke out of the dreaded camel clutch and pinned the Sheik to become the new champion on Jan. 23, 1984, at Madison Square Garden — the building paid tribute to Hogan on Thursday night — and set the course for Hulkamania. He was champion for 1,474 days before losing to Andre in 1988. Slamming Andre Back before the internet spilled behind-the-scenes secrets, and there was easy access to watch wrestling around the globe, WWE created its own version of wrestling history. If the company said Andre the Giant had never been slammed, and had never been pinned over a 15-year undefeated streak, then it was believed to be true (neither were, of course). Yet, the faux hype set the stage for the match that changed wrestling forever. 'Andre the Giant was a momentum-shifting moment where he passed his torch,' Hogan said in a 2009 interview with the AP. 'He was like the icing on the cake. Once he blessed me, it was up to me to mold that business and carry it through.' You can call this the New World Order of wrestling, brother By 1996, Hogan's good-guy, beats-the-odds character had grown stale as he made the shift from WWE to Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling. Hogan even started to get booed as wrestling fans clamored for a new direction, a new star on top. They got one. 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan. For weeks, two former WWE stars had 'invaded' WCW and claimed they were taking over the company. That led to a six-man tag-team match where the two outsiders, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, promised a third man to help with their cause. No one showed to help the two until the end, when Hogan walked out in his red-and-yellow attire, and stunned the crowd when he put the leg drop on Randy Savage. Hogan was third man. He ditched his traditional colors for black-and-white, sunglasses, dark facial hair and embraced the 'Hollywood' heel persona. Much as he did a decade earlier, Hogan led WCW to new heights and the company would defeat WWE in the TV ratings for 83 straight weeks in what would be known as the 'Monday Night Wars.' Hogan lost as much as he won without his Hulkamania powers. He still moved the needle where it mattered most and made WCW must-see TV every Monday night. It's icon vs. icon against The Rock With WCW out of business and bought by McMahon, Hogan kept a low profile until he made a comeback with WWE in 2002. He returned with Hall and Nash as the NWO but at this point, WWE fans wanted their old Hulkster back. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was WWE's baby-faced crowd favorite when he met the villainous Hogan at WrestleMania in an 'Icon vs. Icon' match in WrestleMania in 2002. One problem, the Toronto crowd decided to back Hogan. 'When we hit the ring, 70,000 loyal people didn't want to hate Hulk Hogan,' Hogan said in 2009. 'Everybody kind of started to panic and I just said, 'Brother, stick with me and I'll get you through this.'' After the match, the cheers for Hogan called for a last-second change of plans, with his former NWO allies running down to attack him. The Rock helped Hogan fight off the NWO and the two men posed together to riotous cheers. 'As I raised his hand and said he's the greatest wrestler in the world, they had to turn me back red and yellow immediately,' Hogan said. 'It's kind of interesting, that was going to be the nail in my coffin. It turned out to be the fountain of youth for me.' ___ AP sports:
