Mickie James looks back on getting pushback for wearing a headdress at WWE WrestleMania 33.
Speaking on GAW TV, the hosts asked Tommy Dreamer about their vision of a potential Native American Bad Ass character for James. She recalled how she wore a headdress at WrestleMania 33. Tommy Dreamer pointed out that James got a lot of pushback because different tribes have unique customs.
“Because women aren’t supposed to wear headdresses,” James said. “Warriors wear headdresses. It’s a war bonnet, and it’s supposed to be only for men. Also, each feather represents certain achievements or whether it was a battle one or a spiritual journey or different levels and stuff like that.
“So yeah, there was an incredible amount [of pushback], which I was pretty shocked about. In my mind, I said, ‘Oh, I’m a female, but I’m a female warrior,’ and it was WrestleMania. Everything is theatrics, it’s as big as possible, it’s WrestleMania. I still have that headdress, and I thought I was gonna be able to showcase it and do all the things, but it sits in my closet.”
James also paid tribute to her Native American heritage at IMPACT Hard To Kill 2023 There, she defeated Jordynne Grace to win the IMPACT Knockouts World Championship
Tommy Dreamer Explains Why Mickie James’ Idea Wouldn’t Work
Tommy Dreamer then responded by explaining that Mickie James’ idea wouldn’t work today. He stated that she would have to explain it. The veteran also emphasized that the wrestling industry avoids culture-based characters now.
“So the answer would be no. Because number one, you gotta explain that [laughs],” Dreamer said. “Number two, listen, I have this conversation all the time. The Iron Sheik, who we just lost, we will never see a character like that again. What did wrestling and wrestling villains always portray? Fear. It was Germans, it was Nazis, it was Russians during all conflict. Iron Sheik, the Ayatollah, Iran. You’re too young to realize this, but in Iran with the Ayatollah, they killed US soldiers. They took Americans hostage. Here’s this guy who was legit the Sha of Iran’s bodyguard, and he was coming to America to do this to everybody. That was his goal.
“We are currently, there’s a war going on that we’re not involved in, Russia and the Ukraine. We cannot have a heel Russian character. You can not have a Ukraine character. Why? Because companies would come at you. So think of that. Think of a character like that.
“Wrestlers are always held to a different standard. So Mickie thinking ‘I’m doing this as an amazing tribute.’ ‘How dare you, you’re doing that.’ But guess what? I have seen women wrestlers with full headdresses on that were natives, but social media wasn’t a thing, or people won’t tag your company to get you kicked off. Or ‘This person should be fired.’ If it becomes such a hot topic issue, you have to get rid of it. We don’t say Masha Slamovich is from Russia anymore because you don’t want that negative stereotype. But that’s honestly how the world is different.”
RevPro announced that James will compete at their 11 Year Anniversary Show. More information is available here.
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