James made her debut with the brand on the October 23 episode of "SmackDown", defeating Layla. On the October 30 episode of "SmackDown", a controversial angle began that saw WWE Women's Champion Michelle McCool and Layla, collectively known as LayCool, bully James. On the November 20 episode of "SmackDown", after James defeated Layla, McCool gave James the nickname "Piggy James", that sent James to tears, resulting in a five-on-five Survivor Series match at the November pay-per-view Survivor Series, where James' team prevailed over McCool's team, with James and Melina as the sole survivors. On the December 4 episode of "SmackDown", James became the number one contender for McCool's Women's Championship by defeating Beth Phoenix and Natalya in a triple threat match. The following week, James challenged McCool for the championship at , but was unsuccessful after interference from Layla. The storyline feud continued into the Royal Rumble on January 31, 2010 where James finally defeated McCool in 20 seconds to become a five-time Women's Champion, the second most reigns with the old WWE Women's Championship after Trish Stratus, who has had 7 reigns. Over the following couple of weeks, "SmackDown" consultant Vickie Guerrero was introduced into the rivalry, choosing to side with LayCool over James. On the February 26 episode of "SmackDown", McCool used her rematch clause to face James for the Women's Championship, with Guerrero acting as special guest referee. After Guerrero slapped James, McCool pinned her to regain the title.