Mickie James compares her most recent release to the release WWE gave her over a decade ago.
On Thursday, April 15, 2021, Mickie James was released by WWE for a second time. The two releases being more than 10 years apart, her second experience with WWE was much different than her first as due to injury and outside circumstances, Mickie was not prominently on television the second time around when she received her release.
Speaking in a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Mickie James described her 2021 release as disappointing and disheartening.
“I think that surprised is a word that is thrown around. I don’t think I am ever surprised at anything. It’s hard to have expectations because nothing ever goes according to your plan. But I thought I would wrap my career there [WWE]. I was so grateful to be able to go back and wrap up my story and bow out in a good graces kind of way. I felt like the first time I left was on such weird terms. And I did some amazing stuff when I came back. But it wasn’t shocking, because I was kind of in this space where I felt it kind of coming. I can’t explain why but I just did, and it felt disheartening. It was disappointing more than anything.”
While comparing this release to the release in 2010, she proclaimed that Mickie from 2010 had all of her eggs in the wrestling basket and was burning the candle at both ends because of her passion for wrestling.
“I have been through a lot more since that time. Also, I think that the Mickie James from 2010 was in a very weird space. It’s crazy to think that after the amount of success I had there, but I also had a lot of personal stuff going on and it really started to affect me. I was burning the candle at both ends and all of my eggs were in the wrestling basket. I only valued myself according to how the company valued me. I was young, hungry and I loved it, I would do anything for it. There was that crazy, wrestling-obsessed mindset where I was just happy to be there. So when that was taken from me, I was devastated. When IMPACT called me, I said to Dixie Carter I have no desire to do anything right now. But she kept calling me and Kurt Angle called me. Kurt was the one who convinced me. No disrespect to Dixie, I love her she is awesome. But I knew Kurt from WWE, it was an honest reality check for me. To get his perspective was really cool. It opened up my eyes. This time I was more disappointed. Now we know how the business works and wrestling is not my absolute everything.”
Of course, the story that came out of Mickie James being released was her possessions arriving in a garbage bag. Mickie shared a video of the trash bag with her possessions on social media and it became a trending topic with Triple H and more executives announcing that the person responsible had been fired and Stephanie McMahon reaching out personally and apologizing to Mickie James.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Mickie reveals that her belongings also arrived in a trash bag in 2010.
“It did. This is the crazy thing, I posted that picture to kind of go yeah this still a thing. We have put up with so much crap in wrestling that we had become desensitized. We live in our own world and I forgot that the trash bag was offensive. There was more to that too. I rewound back to the 2010 Mickie James, where I was mentally when it happened the first time. It was like a stab in the heart to an open wound. I took it then as they think I am trash. I was with the company for 4 years, and they think I am trash. All these thoughts were running through my head. If you are already broken, they can be devastating. I am thinking about all of that and all the people who also got released beside me. I see my name on the bag and it defines which bag is in which box. I’m thinking about the girls and they wouldn’t say anything, because you don’t want to mess up an opportunity for the future. But this Mickie James doesn’t give a sh*t. I am super grateful for my career and my ability; I couldn’t do it without WWE.”
Now, Mickie James looks to move forward as the producer of the first-ever all-women's pay-per-view from the National Wrestling Alliance. Mickie James hopes that this event will bring about a change in the way women are viewed. Learn more here.
Thanks to Chris Van Vliet for sending the above quotes. You can check out the full interview embedded above.
