As soon as Mickie James arrived, they pushed this angle in which Michelle McCool and her sidekick at the time, Layla, were bullying her. With the diva trade and Maria on leave, Mickie was the only face diva on Smackdown anyway. They ruined her clothes, cost her a match, and then started the weight angle. Dirtsheets had talked about weight being one of the reasons why Mickie James was "punished" by going to Smackdown like she did. The WWE pushing the storyline like they did fed dirtsheets, fueling that Mickie James was being punished. The timing of the whole thing was very insulting. But why should WWE care? Their mission was to get McCool looking great at the expense of any tool.
It was obvious Mickie James would win the title. Diva bully angles had occurred in the past with Chyna/Ivory and Lita/Trish. In those cases, the faces always win the title from the bully. Not so much an honor as it is how the story is meant to progress.
Mickie James had an infection which caused her to drop the title after just a few weeks. She worked the match to give it back to McCool and had surgery the next week. Many people doubted she would make it back in time for Wrestlemania, but she pushed herself to do it. She did it. But look at how the WWE hyped her return. They didn't. They just randomly placed her into the large, lackluster diva tag match at Wrestlemania. They just had her show up on Raw and stand by Kelly Kelly to watch a match. On Smackdown, they had her run out with the rest of the face divas to run off a bunch of the heels, leaving Beth Phoenix the sole face to get attention. This is not how you treat your most over diva. This was the first and only time Mickie James missed time from traveling with the WWE for an extended period of time due to anything health related. Yes, it only amounted to 3 weeks, but remember when Michelle McCool got injured in 2009? She was only gone for 2 weeks before they hyped when she would be returning. She did not even wrestle for over a month after that on Smackdown. Before she did return, they only mentioned her infrequently in backstage segments to say she had a knee injury. Boring reason leads to boring return. But then again, why would you hype a woman you knew you never liked and would be getting rid of soon enough? Mickie James was always just an option, not something to be treated as a priority.
And that is Mickie's 6th and final title reign. They did not even keep her around for more than a month after that. Their worst nightmare would have been realized if they had. Beth Phoenix injured shortly after. Kelly Kelly almost seriously injured at a house show. Tiffany suspended. They would have had to push Mickie James again to a 7th title reign. Remember who was closest to reaching Moolah's record before Trish eventually did and broke it? Ivory. WWE never let her do it. History repeats with Mickie James. They insulted Mickie James a lot worse than they did Ivory. She even got released while promoting the WWE's own Draft in her hometown. I cannot even measure how that slap in the face must feel.
A nice bit I hear is that "storylines happen". People who say that are missing the kicker. Storylines happen FOR A REASON. And that reason is not always entertainment. The current storyline involving Nexus and Cena is a means to inject credibility in the members, especially Barrett. This guy is getting a bigger rub in the main event than some guys who have been around for years have gotten. What reason can be found in what they did to Mickie James on Smackdown? Do whatever it takes to make Michelle McCool look like a great heel. Mickie James was the most over diva and a very strong worker. McCool was getting that heat. Fans were loudly chanting that she sucked. WWE and McCool have to blame themselves for it fading. They pushed the envelope too far and McCool was just too lame in the end to be a serious heel well enough. Once Mickie served her purpose, they got rid of her completely. Remember when Melina returned to Smackdown last year? Outside of feuding with McCool, she really got no true feuds or meaningful storylines with anyone else. They just used her and spat her back to Raw. She still had a few more reigns in her. Look at what they did to her recently. Put the title on her, used her to make McCool make history again, then immediately kicked her aside to give Natalya a push. You see who the centerpiece is. It is McCool. This storyline was done for her benefit, not Mickie's. Arguably, Mickie James even lost the feud against McCool. The whole thing about weight and being bullied continued after Mickie James won the title. They even added Vickie Guerrero, who served to add more to both the weight aspect and added to the bullies against Mickie. McCool got back the title. Mickie James was never treated with proper hype again after that. They never wanted her to be the centerpiece.
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