Unlike what I did before, I plan to actually analyze the career of Mickie James in the WWE in sections. What was the WWE possibly trying to do when they pushed her, or did not push her? What was Mickie James doing on her side? Where were the fans? How did Mickie James get over and how did she stay over? To understand what I am going to say better, it will help if you accept at least one of two things. First, the WWE giving someone a title does not mean they are in love with that person. You have to look at WHY the title is changing hands. Second, the WWE does not have to be in love with someone just because they got very over. Did the WWE want them that over in the first place?
It all began with a storyline with Trish Stratus. I am not going to analyze every little segment or talk too much about the storyline itself. Going deeper than that, why have this storyline at all? To give Mickie James a chance to be awesome? One red flag comes out right away. At the expense of Trish Stratus? Trish Stratus was the top face diva at the time, Women's Champion, the centerpiece of the division, and if it really needs to be said, the woman the WWE had been building to be the greatest diva of all time. In general, when there is a centerpiece, or even someone pushed well consistently, in a feud with someone lower in the ladder, or pushed and depushed frequently, the centerpiece may be the one meant to come out on top in the end, whether the structure of the feud is linear or very complex. Gail Kim's feud against Maryse, who was Raw's centerpiece for their diva division, in early 2010 is an example where the centerpiece was meant to outshine the tool and move on. I have already spoken about that feud. An example of the opposite scenario is Triple H's feud with Batista in 2005. Triple H lost the World title to Batista and put him over a few more times after that. However, you have to note that Batista went on to be made into somewhat of a centerpiece himself for a time, and don't forget that Triple H was not exactly kicked to the curb.
Back to Trish, this would not be the first time the WWE pushed a fresh challenger for Trish's title, had them win the title, then had them eventually lose it back to Trish. Every woman who won her first Women's Championship from Trish Stratus up to Mickie's debut lost it right back to Trish. Jazz, Molly Holly, and Victoria. 100%. Aside from that interesting statistic, all these women are credible wrestlers. You can also argue that these women were not really treated that well outside of their title reigns or pushed as hard and well as Trish Stratus was. But Trish Stratus is Wonder Woman. The WWE cannot keep pushing these same minor storylines and feuds for her. They have already built her above that. Need proof of what I mean? What was Trish doing in between the time she returned from injury and Mickie's debut? She was teaming with Ashley to feud against 3 women. The odds against Trish? How can she overcome? Sound familiar to something that is going on now on Raw?
Mickie James debuted. This was not a linear feud between her and Trish. They developed it greatly. Why? For the sake of which diva? Look at who the constant in the picture is and you'll see. Mickie James became a fresh challenge for Trish to work with and look good in the end. They gave her a movie-like storyline to be the heroine in. I can compare it to The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, which came years before Trish was in the WWE, and Obsessed, a later example. In both movies, a psychotic woman makes life miserable for a family, but it is the strong heroine who eventually overcomes. Throughout this WWE storyline, Trish was the one you were supposed to side with. Mickie James was annoying her, molesting her, attacking her friends, would not respect Trish's wishes for space, and she, in case you forgot, was the one who turned heel by attacking Trish. The WWE built this storyline properly for Mickie to be hated and the audience to side with Trish.
Wrestlemania 22 is the clearest example. Trish got booed. Mickie James, the heel, got cheered. Do not fool yourself into thinking that was supposed to happen. John Cena is not supposed to get booed either. That "controversial" excuse is there to try to save his image just a bit. Do not fool yourself to thinking that the WWE pushed Eddie Guerrero as a heel that infamous period because they wanted him to get cheered. That makes storylines and feuds difficult. Eddie got cheered because he was entertaining and good at what he did. Why did Mickie James get cheered? I see people like to say it was because of the lesbian thing. By my memory, not one WWE diva has ever become as over as Mickie James from just a lesbian angle, or even just a psycho or stalker gimmick. It is not the role, but how well you handle it. Mickie James was entertaining. Pro wrestling is about that. The fans want to be entertained. Mickie James delivered. She did nothing wrong in getting over. She did her job. Do you think the WWE would actually want their diva legend, while face, to get booed against a WWE rookie? You can see from the start that they did not want Mickie James to get this over or did anything with the intent of her getting that over. Most of those segments were mainly, in terms of the storyline, just for the fans to see that she was annoying Trish. You were supposed to sympathize with Trish.
I was talking a while ago about every diva who won her first Women's Championship from Trish eventually losing it right back to Trish. Is my whole argument busted because Mickie did not lose that first title to Trish? Not quite. Their feud continued. The first problem popped up at Backlash 2006. Trish got injured in the title match. Second problem? A while after that, Trish decided to retire. The WWE moved the title from Mickie James to Lita so Trish can have a storybook finish against her greatest rival. You can tell it was a rushed job when you see the title moving from heel to heel like that. If Trish had not gotten injured and then wanted to retire, there is no doubt in my mind that she would have gotten the title from Mickie James eventually. Two reasons. First, 100% of divas pushed for their first title reign like this against Trish prior to Mickie James lost it back to Trish. Second, the movie calls for the strong heroine to overcome. Especially when the heroine is the centerpiece the WWE was already more than high on, why wouldn't they follow through?
There you have Mickie's first storyline and title reign. I argued that she was brought in for the benefit of giving Trish Stratus an epic angle, since the WWE would feel small junk would not be adding much to her legacy. Giving Mickie James the title here was not so much an honor for her as it was a tool in the storyline for Trish to eventually get back what the psycho took, while adding to Trish's own title count (although her injury and retirement ruined that). The title on the centerpiece is usually a tool to make them into a legend. What made Mickie James get over was not the WWE's intent, propaganda, or anything else done from their end with the hope that this would get her face reactions. That monster reaction she got at Wrestlemania 22 should be the first hint that this woman will either get a respected career from a company that wants to hand her the ball or she will get a lot of people questioning why she is getting treated as poorly as she is from a company that never wanted her over in the first place and is still looking for someone else to be centerpiece with Trish gone. Which would it be? The story continues...
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