The rumor going around why Mickie James was being depushed this time? Injury. I do not buy it. It is true Mickie James had a minor car accident and sold an injury in a match just before 2009 started, but she was still at WWE events and she was selling the injury in that match, not really seriously injured. Besides, if you look at large diva matches prior to this time or a diva match that just happened this week on Raw, some women in a tag match do not really have to do much of anything at all. Mickie James could have been booked in the place of Kelly Kelly in at least one instance. She was not. Is that how you treat your most over diva or diva you intend to be a centerpiece? No. They did not push Mickie James as a vital part of the diva division.
Mickie James soon got matches and got focus back on her as the year progressed. Why? The WWE was drafting Melina, the face Women's Champion, to Smackdown to feed to Michelle McCool so she could make history by being the first woman to have held both female titles. In Melina's place, they sent Maryse, with the Diva's Championship in hand, to Raw. Watch how they treated Maryse and the Raw division for over a year. They were intent on making her a centerpiece. It was obvious both Maryse and McCool could not exist as centerpieces on the same show, especially with both heels. Maryse, however, was a poor wrestler after her injury. Mickie James was a credible face diva who could work with her and give her a rub. How often did Mickie James get promo time? Out of when she did speak, when was it really for her sake more than putting over Maryse's character? Maryse even had a story going on with Miz during all this, putting more attention on her. There is your centerpiece.
Pushing Mickie James like she stood a chance at making the same piece of history as Michelle McCool by having her feud with Maryse also served another purpose. When McCool did defeat Melina, mowing her over even, she did not just defeat one woman to make history, she also beat Mickie James in the race. Fans were talking about which diva would make history first. It was obvious it would not be Mickie James, the tool. They were just using her once again.
Mickie James did eventually win the title. Maryse taking time off starting the next day for her knee injury, which never fully healed, was no coincidence. They knew it was going to happen. They still had Maryse work and keep the title on her. Not only did this not do any favors for Maryse or the women that had to work with her, it was not good for the division. But since when does the WWE really care about the divas?
What happened after that? The WWE teased a heel turn for Gail Kim, but dropped it. The WWE built up challengers by giving them wins, having them win #1 contendership, and then just had Mickie James retain. They were not developing any good feuds for Mickie James or the divas she worked with. With Maryse gone, the WWE did not even try to keep their Raw diva hype up. With Smackdown running stale, the WWE decided to have a diva trade. They had Mickie James drop the title to a jobber, Jillian. They then sent her with no hype at all to Smackdown. With a whole lot of internet blame already going on Mickie James for things that happened during her reign, and combined with old rumors, Mickie's move to Smackdown was seen as a punishment. It was obvious that they only did it to feed her to McCool.
Let me go back to some of the things people blamed Mickie James for. For not wrestling great matches with Maryse? Maryse was not a great wrestler to begin with, had lost a bit since her injury, and spent more time in her matches pushing her character than wrestling. Considering the WWE was high on this woman, and still are if you notice she is the only Raw diva in the last few months with any constant angle going on (Million Dollar Couple) and only Raw diva with any real storyline going on outside of the title feud, Mickie James cannot just mow over this woman. Not performing well with Rosa Mendes? Rosa is another poor wrestler. She could not take the DDT properly, timed herself poorly when Mickie James did a leaping spot in the corner, and did not fall properly in taking the Lou Thesz Press. Don't believe me with the last one? Look back to a certain spot where Shawn Michaels tried the same move on John Cena in 2009. Cena does not fall exactly in time with when Shawn jumps on him. For a brief moment, Shawn is just latched onto a standing Cena. Cena, no matter how bad a wrestler you want to say he is, was strong enough to stay stiff and still fall backwards properly. Rosa Mendes was not. She just rolled aside. The Gail Kim incident? Speaks for itself. Gail Kim took a bad hit and did not execute her end in Mickie's DDT. Mickie James motioned for Gail to take a kick to the mouth after that, which would still allow Gail to fall how she felt safest after that. Gail was still too out of it to work with Mickie. Mickie had to take her down with a forearm. The DDT spot with Alicia Fox? Mickie James did her end of the move the same way. Alicia had trouble flipping herself over while supporting Mickie. Look at Gail Kim vs. Alicia in early 2010. When Gail attempts a Reverse Frankensteiner, Alicia Fox once again does not take the move properly. Specifically, she does not flip or do anything to protect her head when coming down. Alicia is not as great as some would like to believe. And trying to flip through the monkey flip in her match with Jillian? Did you miss the part where Jillian bounced in her way?
This was Mickie's fifth title reign in the WWE. It was her only run with the Diva's Championship. She went through a period of nothing before finally getting her push against Maryse, and then mainly for the benefit of women meant to be treated as centerpieces. When Raw's centerpiece dropped out for health reasons, WWE just shuffled Mickie James through opponents. Mickie James still remained over. That overness is what made her use on Smackdown even more meaningful.
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