Kaitlyn’s accidental WWE breakthrough came with some immediate backstage heat, because according to the former Divas Champion, some women on the roster were already trying to get her pushed out of the spot almost as soon as she got it.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Kaitlyn explained that the whole thing started with a battle royal she was never supposed to win. At the time, she had been fighting just to get consistent television time and had spent months pitching ideas to WWE creative.
One of those ideas actually got picked up. Kaitlyn pitched a storyline where Booker T, who was SmackDown General Manager at the time, would make her his assistant. That would have finally given her a regular spot on television.
“I had written this storyline where I was going to be selected to be the assistant to the general manager. So, this was, this would be the most significant thing to happen in my career since winning NXT. And it would mean a regular spot on TV every single week to establish myself as a character, someone that people cared about, someone that people recognized.”
WWE creative liked the idea and ran with it, but Kaitlyn said the plan changed at the last minute when Vince McMahon decided Eve Torres should get the role instead.
“Creative liked it, they took it. They ran with it. And so the way that it happened is I was given the spot and then Eve objected and she was a heel. And so then the storyline developed to where her and I were going to wrestle and whoever won got the spot. And I was, the way that it was written and the way that it was all the way until the very last minute, I was supposed to win this.”
Kaitlyn said she found out about the change while dressed as The Ultimate Warrior for a WWE Magazine shoot.
“I get out to the ring, Eve’s out there, and then our writer Tom comes out and he’s just like so defeated. I could see it in his face and I was like, ‘Ugh.’ And he’s like, ‘Vince changed his mind. He wants Eve to have it.’”
That looked like another setback, but things changed quickly. Kaitlyn said Fit Finlay later noticed how little she was being used and changed the elimination order for an upcoming Divas battle royal. Kaitlyn was originally supposed to go out early, but Finlay kept her in until the end with Eve.
The finish was still supposed to go Eve’s way. Kaitlyn was meant to clothesline her over the top rope, only for Eve to hang on and pull Kaitlyn out instead. That plan fell apart on live television.
“We set up for the spot. The physics were off. She didn’t, like either I didn’t hit her hard enough or like it was just off and she didn’t flip over, and so we had to set the spot back up again.”
On the second attempt, Kaitlyn drilled Eve so hard that she actually went over the top and hit the floor.
“I hit the ropes and then I clotheslined her so hard that she could not hold on and she fell out and got eliminated. And so live TV is live TV.”
Just like that, Kaitlyn had accidentally become the number one contender. She said Brad Maddox, who was refereeing the match, had WWE officials in his headset telling him to raise her hand and go with the result. Kaitlyn, meanwhile, thought she might have just gotten herself fired.
“We’re both, if you watch it, we’re both standing there like, ‘Oh God.’ And so, you know, he grabs my hand and I celebrate and it’s just like pure, I don’t even know. There was just so much happening because I had the thoughts of like, okay, am I going to get fired? Like how bad did I mess this up? Is this good? Like every thought you could have in that moment was just kind of flooding my mind.”
Things got even more interesting when she got backstage. Eve was upset, but Vince McMahon apparently found the whole mess hilarious.
“I got back there and Eve was very upset, and she was understandably. And Vince was laughing. Vince was laughing. You never knew what you were going to get with Vince. You never knew what he was going to think was really funny or like fire you for.”
Then came the part that really showed just how competitive the Divas division was at the time. Kaitlyn said the same writer who had previously delivered the bad news about her General Manager storyline was thrilled that she had finally caught a break. But he also told her some women backstage were already trying to make sure it didn’t last.
“That same writer that had to deliver the bad news to me about me not getting that spot as a general manager assistant, he was like so happy and he was hugging me because he was like such, we were friends and he was such a big part of all of our lives and he was like the Divas writer. And he was so excited for me because he knew how hard I worked and, you know, again, like he knew me and he’s like, you know, he’s just like, ‘You deserve this,’ you know, that type thing. And he was like, ‘Some of the girls are already trying to get you written out.’ He was like, ‘But I’m going to try.’”
Kaitlyn said there was a simple reason for that kind of backstage competition. WWE’s women had far fewer opportunities back then, and there was only one championship to chase.
“At that time there wasn’t a lot of TV time for the Divas and there was only one title. And so everybody wanted to be the one. There wasn’t, you know, now there’s tag team titles, like all the different titles for women now. There was only one.”
The attempt to change course didn’t work. WWE stuck with Kaitlyn as number one contender, and that accidental win eventually helped launch the storyline that ended with her becoming Divas Champion.
It’s pretty wild when you think about it. Kaitlyn went into the match expecting to be eliminated, botched her way into a title opportunity, came backstage thinking she might be fired, found Vince McMahon laughing, and then learned some of her co-workers were already trying to undo the whole thing. Instead, it became one of the biggest turning points of her WWE career.
What do you think about Kaitlyn saying some WWE women were already trying to get her written out after the accidental win? Do you think WWE made the right move by sticking with her? Let us know in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
