Mickie James Wants Women’s Tag Team Titles

Landon Buford of The Hype Magazine passed along his recent interview with Mickie James ahead of WWE Evolution. We don’t usually post work that was previously published, but we had our own interview with Mickie James that was scheduled a couple of months ago, and her PR team cancelled 30 minutes beforehand, claiming that WWE had to approve all interviews that their client did with wrestling media.

So this feels like justice.

The following interview has been edited and condensed. You can read the full feature at The Hype Magazine.

Landon Buford: Can you talk about Charlotte’s progression over the years as a performer?

Mickie James: “I think it is incredible, especially being that this wasn’t her dream. I think she was totally content with the life she was living at the time. I feel like Reid’s death was really the catalyst in her decision to go full force and pursue a career in wrestling after his passing. Obviously, Ric Flair’s shoes are such big shoes to fill. He is considered the greatest of all time by many and certainly one of the greatest of all time, in my opinion, like Shawn Michaels, and the list goes on. I think that was certainly the catalyst for her desire to try to be the best. She recognizes that she’s going to be constantly compared to her father and she wants to be at least perceived somewhat on that same level. Obviously, she’s done well for herself thus far.”

LB: Earlier this year, Bayley talked about your locker room leadership, and that she wanted the opportunity to pick your brain about the evolution of the wrestling business. What does that mean to you?

MJ: “It’s incredible. I think it’s humbling and it’s an incredible honor. I think that it has always been prominent in the male locker room. They have always had the tiers of veteran leadership from the individuals who have been there for 12 years to mentoring the upcoming talent. Now to have that in the female locker room provides strong leadership to younger female talent who are now just coming up. Hopefully, I can encourage them through our life experiences to not make some of the same mistakes that we’ve made in the past. Both inside and outside of the ring it’s a massive benefit for them because a lot of the time they learn by trial and error. Hopefully, if you have someone who’s already been there, done that, then you could learn from those mistakes or learn from all the successes they have had in the business. You can be so successful if you use those lessons in your own career. So, to answer your question, I am incredibly honored, and I love Bayley so much. She is such a good person, super sweet, and she loves wrestling. Like, loves it within her deepest part of her soul. She’s great, always very complimentary and very respectful in the locker room.”

LB: What were some of the emotions that you felt when you were announced to face Lita at WWE Evolution?

MJ: “Most people know that Lita has been, as far as my wrestling career is concerned, a big influence even before I came to the WWE. We met when I was working the independent scene in North Carolina. She’s always been so kind to me and helped me out a lot. For example, she pulled me aside back then when I was working my way up and gave me advice on what to do and what not to do in the ring. This was even before I got hired and kept coming in for tryouts. Telling my boss, “maybe you should look at this girl,” and she didn’t have to do that! Then also obviously allowing me to pitch ideas that ended up getting me on television and working with Trish Stratus. I’d always looked forward to being able to work with Lita. We didn’t really get a chance to work together until she was getting ready to retire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLBViP3OHtI

So, our big stint of finally being able to be in the ring together was when she was on her way out, which was bittersweet for me. I’d always wanted to work a program with her and she’s saying goodbye as I’m getting to the height of my career. I think we have some unfinished business because of the way she left, and I think for her to have been able to come back and provide the girls with her focus when she was announcing, helping produce, and doing things backstage. Lita has so much knowledge – she really paved the way both in the ring and how she’s made money. She was able to separate herself. Before Lita, women weren’t doing moonsaults, hurricanranas, and other highflying maneuvers. I think she really changed the game in the women’s division. I’m excited to work with her and to maybe give these young girls a little competition.”

LB: It is also rumored that Tag Team Championships will be added to the women’s division at Evolution. What are your thoughts about the WWE women’s division being strengthened?

MJ: “I hope it is true because I’ve been saying and asking about bringing back the Women’s Tag Team Championships. I know I’m not the only one who’s asked about it, but I certainly have been saying we should bring them back. They’ve been retired for so long – it was in the early ‘90s with the Jumping Bob Angels and The Glamour Girls. I don’t know if a lot of people know who these people are, but I’m aware because I have been in the business.

Now they are putting three women’s matches on the show, but aside from a personal issue, the only thing that is valuable to grab a hold of is the Raw and Smackdown Women’s Championships. But there can only be one person going after those championships at a time, in the reality of things. So what is it that will give everyone a different way of fighting and getting more camaraderie and storylines? In the same way that they do with the men. They have a plethora of championships and storylines to be able to go while the women only have one per show.

I think the tag team championships, even if it’s just one belt that’s defended on both shows, but you have the IIconics now that are coming up. Think about when Layla and Michelle were together – it would have been a great storyline when they were with the company. Or Alicia Fox and I can be the veteran team in the division. It would just give everyone a different catalyst for things and ideas from different stories. Storylines could also spawn off from those stories. It would also show how diverse the women’s division could be because tag team wrestling is a whole different dynamic. You would be building towards different moments than are in singles competition.”

LB: If you had to pick one tag team partner from the Attitude Era and one from the current era, who would they be?

MJ: “People would think that I would probably pick Trish or Lita for the Attitude Era, but I am going to say Lisa ‘Victoria’ Marie Varon because she wasn’t the lady to mess with. She is tough as nails. Lisa was the bad ass before the term ‘bad ass’ was implemented. As for this era, I would pick my friend Alicia Fox. She’s my road partner, travel partner and my ride or die.”

LB: WrestleMania 35 is at MetLife Stadium next year and Toronto is not far from New Jersey. Are you interested in facing Trish at WrestleMania and what type of match would you like it to be?

MJ: “Always! Of course! I feel like I’m very blessed and very fortunate that people are always so kind. I think it just says a lot about the story and how hard we all work, from Trish and I to the writing team to Stephanie and the production team, to make that storyline so impactful at that moment. Now that it has been more than 10 years, it is still noted as one of the greatest female storylines of all time. When I go back and I look at the match, it was incredible, but there have been some pretty amazing matches since then, too.

To say it was the greatest female match of all time, I don’t know that I could say that, but what I could say is it was probably one of the greatest female storylines of all time, due to the connection and passion and emotion that it gave the audience. I think that’s where people lose. It’s like, it’s not about what moves you do – go out there and do it. At the end of the day, people will forget the moves. It’s not about that in this business. It is about the emotion and how you make them feel. At the end of that storyline, the reason why they were so connected and the reason why they were so into it is that they felt one way or another. Whether they loved Trish, hated me or vice versa. The fact is they were genuinely connected in the story and to the characters, which made it special. It obviously stood the test of time. So that says a lot.

It was the first time they did that for the women’s division and it is kind of the measuring stick of how to connect with the people. I don’t go out there and try to plan these matches. Yes, I want to have a five-star match, but I don’t really care who rates it five stars on the internet. What I care about is the little kid at home that I’ve genuinely made them feel something to the house moms as well. I’m more of an emotional person because that to me at the end of the day is what drives this business. That’s what I connected with as a fan, and that’s what I build on trying to make people connect with me or our characters and storylines.”

LB: Did you enjoy the storyline?

MJ: “I loved it. At the end of the day, that’s the fun part for me. When the lights in the arena turn on, I’m Mickie James all the time. You know what I mean? This is my normal, but to be able to go out and play that type of character is so fun and interesting. It allows me to show my artistic side. I was fortunate enough to be able to keep my real name and build a whole bio around Mickie James. For instance, from the songs my character listens to, to the food she eats, the whole gimmick. When the lights come on, I don’t have to question myself or think twice about it. It’s just who I am.”

LB: What are your thoughts on Ronda Rousey’s progression thus far?

MJ: “I think she’s come a long way since she debuted at WrestleMania. It’s tough because you go from being in the ring with Kurt Angle, Triple H,and Stephanie. Stephanie has so much heat. Fans love her and hate her and love to hate her. You’re in there with the best of the best and then go from that platform into the women’s division, which is a whole other animal of the family, in terms of the locker room and on the road together and us always working together to create these moments and matches. I think she’s working hard and she’s trying hard. It’s a different world for her and I think it’s a different dynamic in the sense of that we’re all competitive, clearly, but we’re also all a family and we all must work together. You are only as good as the person in there lets you be at the end of the day. Hopefully, they are professional enough to let you do that.

I think that’s probably the biggest difference for her, that and to understand that nobody is out to get her. That is the world she grew up in, understandably to become an Olympian or go into the UFC Hall of Fame, and become a champion. That type of mindset has helped her become a household name and bring women into the limelight. I think that she’s trying hard and I’m sure that it’s a different world for her to get adapted to and she’s recognizing that this is a whole different animal. I think she loves it here in the WWE.”

LB: At this point in your career, is there anything that Mickie James wants to achieve as a performer?

MJ: “I still want to win the Women’s Championship again or twice, not just tie Trish’s record, but break it. Now that Charlotte has tied it, I want to tie her as well. I have tons of goals and it would be cool to do a storyline that rivals the way I came in. If I can have one more storyline that is in that echelon with anybody on the roster, I don’t want to say only with Trish. I would love to work with Trish. I’m so honored to be able to work with Lita again. I was in her retirement match and I worked with Trish on her last match on RAW. Well, not technically. She’s come back a few times, but as a talent at the time.

So, break the Women’s Championship record, headline a WrestleMania, add a Tag Team Championship in there and become the greatest Tag Team Champions of all time with Alicia Fox are all goals of mine that I would like to achieve at this point in my career.”

You can read the full feature at The Hype Magazine.