Mickie James explains why she needed to enter the 2022 Royal Rumble to properly bookend her WWE career.
Mickie James made history upon entering the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble. She became the first woman ever to represent another company, IMPACT Wrestling, as its champion to enter the annual WWE event. This came less than a year after WWE had released her and sent her her belongings in a garbage bag.
RELATED: Mickie James Said Nick Khan Personally Apologized To Her For Trash Bag Incident
Now, in an interview with Denise Salcedo, Mickie James explains why she felt the need to enter this Royal Rumble and why it wasn’t even a difficult decision for her.
“For me I felt that it was a very childish and egoic way to look at it, to go like ‘No I don’t want to do this because my feelings are hurt,’ I could have done that and that was an ego decision, I would have had to live with that decision. I would have had to take accountability for the fact that I just blew my chance to be the first person to do something in a very very long time and to open this gateway and all of these possibilities… This business is bigger than my ego, and my love for this business is bigger than my ego in the sense that this is groundbreaking for everyone to follow I’ve always wanted to make a positive change in the business no matter what and this was an opportunity to do this and if nothing else if this was my last thing on WWE television this would be the last thing they remembered not the latter. That was my reason and if people can’t understand that then we just don’t think alike and that’s okay. ”
She added, “I prayed about having an opportunity to reclaim Mickie James and to put respect back on my name, and here was an opportunity that was given to me on a silver platter. Why would I turn that down if it was something that I prayed for?’
Furthermore, Mickie James says she is optimistic about WWE continuing its working relationship with IMPACT Wrestling in the future, even if it is not an immediate continuation.
“I think yes. I don’t know that it will be immediately, I think this was an opportunity for WWE to test the water, to see if it was something, people talk and they say ‘this will be great and this will get a lot of ratings and this will be a big buzz’ but until it’s actually in front of them I think they can’t actually see it…. I feel that now that they see the potential and how much the fans responded to it, the idea of it happening with the men, or with the World Championships, or something like that, now, at least the idea of that possibility and that door is open.”
SEE MORE: Mickie James On Chelsea Green: I Want To Keep Watching Her Shine Because I Think She’s Brilliant
