During a recent interview with Wrestling Epicenter, Mickie James commented on making her return to Impact Wrestling following a five year absence, and more. You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On her return to Impact Wrestling after five years away from the company: “Oh, it is amazing! They have been so awesome and have welcomed me with open arms. They’ve done everything for it (NWA EmPowerrr) and they get it, they know me! I think about Impact and I have such fond memories. The wrestling bubble is so small so we’ve kind of crossed paths with a lot of the same people in our careers in different organizations around the world. Hopefully I’ve kept a good relationship with all of my friends everywhere But, to be able to walk in there (The Impact Zone) and hear Hardcore Country again, which is something I was able to redefine myself with, and to have a crowd reaction… It is good to be back in front of people again. Of course, we all want to be back on the road with larger crowds and get back to that. Because, the last matches I’ve had, they were all in the Thunderdome – No people there. So, there was energy all around (at Impact). And, I think too, it spoke volumes for the love and respect that they have for me. To be able to come in and talk about my pay-per-view and to be able to showcase that on Impact was pretty cool as well. I’ve got a lot of love for them. And, I’ve got a lot of history there.”
On whether her Impact run was better than her WWE run: “I go back and forth on that because I had such an amazing run and experience in WWE – Especially in my first run. My first run was pretty remarkable. But, to be able to go away from there (WWE) which is legitimately the largest platform for wrestling and then to be able to come back to Impact, because I had been there before (as Alexis Laree). I felt I had to evolve away from that character that resonated with people (in WWE), that kind of crazy character and especially coming away from that “Piggie James” thing, I just wanted to be myself and stand in my own shoes. I got to do my own entrance music and I was working so hard with my music, I still am. But, to be able to produce that (song)and have that resonate so well. Fans, to this day, still love that song! It (Impact) was just great! I got to do so many really, really cool things from hardcore matches, the cage match and main eventing Impact – It was amazing!”
