Prior to her career vs. title match against Jordynne Grace at Impact’s Hard To Kill pay-per-view event, Mickie James spoke about her memorable career feuds and the infamous “Piggie James” angle.
James sat down with the “Women’s Wrestling Talk” podcast to reflect on facing off with Lita, Michelle McCool, and Layla. You can read highlights of her comments below:
The memorable feuds in her career: “Just in my career, I think the fact that I’ve been able to have so many awesome moments against so many different opponents and different types of opponents, different types of women. But the one thing that rings true is that we’re all very passionate about wrestling. Every woman that — and I cherish every rivalry I’ve ever had, I think each of them were unique and special because they had to be, because we’re not all the same. We maybe all have this genuine love and passion for wrestling, but we don’t have the same background. We don’t have the same fighting styles, we don’t have the same training, we don’t have the same darkness [of] what we’re willing to fight for. We’re all so different, so the fact that I’ve been able to have these moments with a Beth Phoenix, who is one of my favorite rivalries of all time. With Trish Stratus, obviously the one that is the first one everyone goes to, and it’s the one that rings so special to me. Because it was that moment of realizing, especially by the time we got to WrestleMania, that I truly made it. Like, this was it. Up until that point I’m like, ‘Anything, whatever.’ But as we got to WrestleMania… that’s when I realized like, ‘Oh my God, I made it. I did it, this is it,’ you know?”
Her match with Lita: “Even being able to go back and you know, wrestle Lita on her way out and retire her. Lita was one who, some people know this, some people don’t, but when I was on the independents and I’m just trying to make it. And she was already on TV, she had been on ECW, and then watching her on WWE. And I would work a lot of independents in the Carolinas and she would come to some of these shows. And she was so giving, she would give me advice of what to do, what not to do. And I was one of the — like, I was a sponge. I would take advice, and I just appreciated it because she didn’t have to do that, right? She didn’t have to help me at all. And I honestly believe that, even in asking for advice as I was trying to get a job and all these things. I do feel this genuine part that goes like, I don’t know if I would have even made it to WWE without Lita, because of the guidance that she gave me along the way in the sense of, she really pulled for me in times when a lot of people didn’t.”
Her feud against Michelle McCool and Layla: “We talk about Michelle McCool and Layla who, you know, this was a pairing that they needed a monster heel faction. They needed someone for the people to truly, genuinely hate. Not be like, ‘Oh, I hate that person but I still love them, and I want to buy their merch.’ No I want, ‘I hate these people.’ And they needed someone to step up and be that. And that whole Piggie James angle and all that stuff, as hard as it was at times, I have people that still come to me today and go like, ‘You know, that storyline was very important, especially in that teenage years, it resonated with me because I was that person getting picked on, or I was that. And the fact that you could fight through and be strong, it gave me strength.’
“And so when you can help not only create these moments for television, but moments that resonate with people, that they can feel in their hearts. And they can attach to and go like, ‘That made a difference for me on a personal level.’ There’s no bigger reward than that. That’s when you know you’ve done something special.”
