Former WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn has opened up about a 2010 NXT match she described as “horrifying,” revealing that Michael Cole took a phone call on commentary while she was in the ring, a moment she felt reflected a broader disinterest in the bout.
Speaking on the Insight podcast with Chris Van Vliet, Kaitlyn recalled her nerves heading into the match against Maxine, the ring name of Karlee Perez, during NXT’s early run in 2010. According to Kaitlyn, the performance from both competitors drew heavy criticism at the time, and she admitted to feeling the pressure of the moment going in.
Kaitlyn’s account, first reported by F4W Online and later detailed further by WrestleView, centers on Cole’s behavior at the commentary desk during the match. Kaitlyn said Cole’s apparent lack of engagement went beyond simple disinterest, telling Van Vliet he “took it really far” by taking a phone call while she and Maxine were working. For a performer already nervous about her in-ring performance, having a lead broadcaster visibly checked out added to what she characterized as a difficult experience to look back on.
The 2010 match has long been cited among fans and commentators as one of the rougher outings from NXT’s first season, which doubled at the time as a competition-style show pairing rookies with veteran pros. Kaitlyn and Maxine’s bout became a frequently referenced example of a performance that struggled to land, and Kaitlyn’s new comments add a previously undisclosed layer to that history, specifically Cole’s conduct on commentary during the match itself.
Beyond the Cole story, the WrestleView report indicates Kaitlyn also addressed broader career questions during the same Insight appearance, including whether she would ever wrestle again, what she is doing currently, and her run as Divas Champion. Specific details of those answers were not included in the available reporting.
Kaitlyn held the WWE Divas Championship during her run with the company before departing WWE. Her comments on the Cole incident arrive as part of a wider retrospective conversation about her time in NXT and the main roster Divas division, offering fans a rare, specific behind-the-scenes account of how a broadcaster’s conduct can shape a performer’s memory of a match long after the fact.
