Mickie James has discussed her desire to “bow out gracefully” from her in-ring career but says WWE wasn’t interested in giving her a special moment before hanging up her boots.
James was released from WWE as part of a slew of cuts on the 15th of April this year. Along with the likes of The IIconics, Kalisto, and Samoa Joe, James was cut from the company after a second spell lasting five years.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, the six-time WWE Women’s Champion has discussed when she knew things weren’t going to work out the way she’d hoped for in her run. According to James, the company gave her opportunities to try different roles but refused to give her the one thing she really wanted.
James explained:
“Yeah, I don’t think me getting my stuff in a trash bag was the point. I would say it was on par with everything I have tried in the last 2 years of my career. I tried everything in my space to pitch, I felt like I was cut off at every turn. There were a lot of things that happened in the last 2 years that really made me feel that I was being humbled along the way.”
“No, you don’t deserve a retirement match. I wasn’t upset at being a producer, I love to help younger talent. I don’t want to wrestle forever either. This run was going to be my last run. All I wanted was this one moment, I didn’t want to win the championship. I just wanted to bow out gracefully, but I felt like there was zero interest. But then trying different things like commentary or trainer in NXT. It’s not that people don’t like women’s wrestling, it’s that it is too much for the company. There was an opportunity to capitalize on the movement, but instead, it was ‘ehh.'”
Mickie James recently announced that she is set to produce an all-women’s wrestling show in association with the National Wrestling Alliance.