Candice Michelle Says She And Melina Nearly Had A Real Fight In The Ring
Former WWE Women's Champion Candice Michelle recently appeared on The Wrestling Inc. Daily podcast to talk about her no-show on last week's RAW Legends Night despite being advertised for the show, her brief run as WWE 24/7 Champion in 2019, and a possible return to the ring, among other topics.
When asked to reflect on her return to WWE TV in 2019 at the RAW Reunion show, Michelle emphasized that she's always been loyal to WWE and cherishes every appearance she makes for the company.
"I've always been very loyal to WWE," said Michelle. "I've never taken anything personal. I remember talking to John Cena and he told me, 'when you are starting to get noticed, get the fans to get behind you or hate you, you've done your job.'
"When you get to that level, or creep in there, and then its taken away from you...it's really hard. But I remember him [Cena] saying, 'it's a machine, it'll go on with or without you.'"
Michelle said her conversation with Cena helped her adopt a mindset towards the wrestling businesses.
"When I go back, I get to be a part of the circle. I love them there, they are my brothers and sisters. It's a brotherhood there, I have a great relationship with everyone. And to take home the 24/7 Championship was awesome [sic]. Because when I went in there, I had no clue if I was gonna be featured or whether they want me back. My mindset was, I'm just gonna show up for me."
Michelle stressed, "I believe the world belongs to those who show up and do the work."
The former WWE Superstar also addressed the recent social media exchange between Cardi B and Lacey Evans.
"I didn't watch the whole segment. But looking at it from outside, I can tell Cardi B is loud, in-your-face, and a great WWE character. People love her, and love to hate her. So, she'll make great character in WWE," she said.
Michelle went onto reveal that her match with Melina happened because the two women genuinely hated each other.
"When things start firing off on Twitter, things can get bad. That's actually how my match with Melina happened. Legit. We hated each other. We were legit gonna go into a real fight at a house show. Twitter had just started, we said something to each other and then we had a match. It makes for great TV. Any time there's any heat or drama, Vince is incredible at taking that kind of stuff and running with it."
Michelle delved into the source of her hatred for Melina.
"She just hate the fact that she came up with the indie scene and to wrestling school, she busted her butt that way. And to her, I was this pretty girl from Hollywood who just got lucky and got a deal. For her to wrestle against me was almost a disgrace for her. And she made that very clear."
Michelle admitted that working with Melina helped her improve as a performer.
"Most matches I had with her I actually learned a lot. We also did an indie show together and I gave this motivational speech and told Melina, 'I respect you because you pushed me to be better.' She taught me how to work the crowd. As a newbie not going to wrestling world, I want to perform for the crowd. I want to be great. When you can dance, its really frustrating.
She continued, "I remember coming back from a broken nose and telling Lisa Marie Varon that she needed to stay away from my nose. Lisa told me if she needed to stay away from her nose than I'm not a wrestler. It was different working with Beth Phoenix because she would lay out all the spots and the flow was great."
Find out more about Candice's latest endeavor CHAMP at CandiceMichelle.com. Candice's full interview aired as part of a recent episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.