Michael Cole apologized to Kaitlyn backstage in 2018, and the reason has now been revealed
Kaitlyn was a guest on the Total Smark Wrestling podcast, where the former WWE Divas Champion revealed why Michael Cole apologized to her backstage after her return in 2018.
Kaitlyn made her WWE comeback for the second installment of the Mae Young Classic tournament, and she had the opportunity to have an important conversation with the veteran announcer.
Michael Cole apologized to her for his controversial work from many years ago when he was the leading commentator on the old talent-hunt edition of NXT.
Back then, Cole's commentary wasn't well-received by the talent as Kaitlyn felt that he was mean and undermined the work of female wrestlers in WWE. The veteran commentator was on a rare run as a heel announcer at the time and made several disparaging statements about WWE's female performers.
Speaking on the aforementioned podcast, Kaitlyn added that she never held any personal grudges with the WWE Vice President of Announcing regarding this topic.
"When I went back to the Mae Young Classic in 2018, I had the opportunity to sit down with Michael Cole. I think he might have felt a little bad because he was the main commentator on NXT, and he was so mean to us," Kaitlyn revealed.
"There was nothing to elevate the women for a long time," the former WWE star continued, "And I know he was just doing his job and making his name. So I had the opportunity to sit down with him, Beth (Phoenix), and Renee (Young) because they did the commentary for the Mae Young Classic in 2018. It was cool to sit down with the three of them, and Michael Cole apologized about that time. And I was like, 'I totally get it.' It wasn't personal, obviously. It was cool to have that moment that we all kinda came back after however many years."
"It didn't help our cause" - Kaitlyn on the negative impact of Michael Cole's commentary on NXT Season 3
Kaitlyn explained that while Michael Cole's questionable commentary work on NXT was funny and suited his on-screen character at the time, it also made the female talent feel worthless.
WWE was still in the Divas era when Kaitlyn started rising in the business, and she noted how Cole's commentary takes didn't help in changing fans' perceptions of female performers.
"As a commentator, you have so much ability to shift people's perspectives and mindset, and he just s**t on us like so much. It was funny, but it also made us feel like s**t and other people s**t on us because of it. And it just added more to the concept of like, people used to refer to the divas matches as bathroom breaks, and so it didn't help our cause," Kaitlyn added. (H/T - Wrestling Inc)
Kaitlyn's last WWE appearance happened in 2019 on the RAW Reunion episode. The former superstar is no longer an active competitor as she presently oversees multiple projects outside wrestling.