WWE Star CM Punk Pitched The LayCool Tag Team Name For Michelle McCool & Layla

WWE

Layla has revealed that it was CM Punk who came up with the name ‘Laycool’ for her WWE tag team with Michelle McCool.

From 2009 until 2011, LayCool were a constant on WWE television, with Layla holding the Women’s Championship and Michelle McCool being co-champion for part of that period.

During a recent appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Layla revealed that the team name came from a suggestion made by CM Punk, saying:

“He wasn’t even part of the conversation. That’s what’s so funny about it. Somebody, I can’t remember, was like, ‘Guys, you need a name? You’ve been together too long now, it’s getting ridiculous. You need a name.’

“Punk was hanging out at the arena, and he just was like, ‘What are you guys doing?’ We had a piece of paper, and we were trying to write something. We’re like, ‘We’re trying to think of a name.’

“Then we were Cool-Lay, it was so stupid. Then he’s like, ‘LayCool?’ Then we’re like, yeah, that’s it. Punk just happened to be there. We were just in the corridor, it just happened.”

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While Michelle McCool was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2025, Layla has suggested she the possibility of a LayCool induction as her only way to join her tag team partner.

It’s All About The Name

There’s something comforting about seeing a tag team with an actual name.

It’s not to say that a team such as Bayley & Lyra Valkyria is fundamentally flawed; it’s just that a tag team name arguably offers something more substantive and marketable, particularly if there are long-term plans to keep them together.

Perhaps it’s the suggestion of oneness that a tag team name offers. They can, of course, be referenced individually, but giving two stars a collective name just brings together their purpose.

Looking back at the history of LayCool, it’s difficult to remember a time when they were just “the team of Layla and Michelle McCool”. It could be argued that their success wasn’t down to just their tag team name, but also the chemistry that they had together.

CM Punk saying that it was “getting ridiculous” that the pair didn’t have a tag team name is something to reflect upon. There are questions as to when a pairing becomes a tag team with a recognizable name versus two wrestlers who have been put together for whatever storytelling purpose exists.

Not every pairing needs a tag team name, but when it certainly does lend to their credibility.

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• LayCool
• wwe
• cm punk
• michelle mccool
• layla

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