Former WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn has reflected on her difficult early experiences in WWE, criticizing Michael Cole’s commentary during her infamous 2010 NXT match against Maxine.
During an appearance on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Kaitlyn, whose real name is Celeste Bonin, discussed the heavily criticized match against Maxine, also known as Karlee Perez, and the pressure she experienced while attempting to perform with very little wrestling experience.
The match became notorious for several mistakes, as well as Cole’s apparent lack of interest in the action. At one point during the broadcast, Cole even took a phone call while the match was taking place.
Although Kaitlyn acknowledged that the match was poorly executed, she believes Cole went too far with his commentary. “Michael Cole took it really far. I’m saying it is the least of my worries because I was under so much pressure to just even remember the basic components of the match, and then also remember that there’s cameras and trying not to hurt her and try to protect myself.”
Kaitlyn explained that she was so focused on remembering the match and protecting herself and her opponent that she had no idea what was happening at the commentary desk. “So there were so many things. I think Michael Cole took it really far. This is what I noticed. That match was really horrifying for me. It was undoubtedly a terrible match.”
According to Kaitlyn, she only became aware of Cole’s behavior after watching the match back.
At the time, she estimated that she had competed in approximately 10 wrestling matches, leaving her with limited experience performing in front of television cameras.
Kaitlyn also discussed her working relationship with Maxine, explaining that although her opponent had more experience, neither performer was particularly comfortable with the situation. “NXT Maxine back in the day, but she wasn’t this veteran. She had more experience than me. She was the veteran in the ring, and we weren’t super cool. We weren’t super tight. We didn’t have this excellent chemistry, and I think that she was really bothered that she had to have a match with me because I had zero experience. And it’s not like I put myself in this position. I’m just willing to do it.”
Looking back at the match itself, Kaitlyn admitted that the performance was disappointing but suggested that some of the mistakes may have been removed from the broadcast. “It’s just boring. I think that they probably edited a couple of mess-ups. I messed up in there. It’s not atrocious, but it’s pretty bad.”
The former WWE star also addressed the harsh reaction she received from wrestling fans, explaining that many viewers were unaware of how inexperienced she was when WWE placed her on television.
While she accepted responsibility for her performance, Kaitlyn felt that some of the criticism failed to account for the circumstances. “So that post that you read earlier that I had made recently, wrestling fans, and not all of them, I love wrestling fans, but there are certain people that are so hard on the wrestlers, on the performers, and so critical. I was absolutely ripped apart on social media for matches like that. I don’t think people knew that I didn’t know what I was doing. I don’t think that people really understood that.”
Despite those early difficulties, Kaitlyn went on to establish herself in WWE and captured the Divas Championship in January 2013.
She departed the company in 2014 before making a brief return to compete in the 2018 Mae Young Classic.
Her latest comments offer additional perspective on the challenges she faced during her introduction to professional wrestling, particularly the pressure of learning the business while performing on national television.
