What Will Become Of Mickie James In 2015?

I obviously have never met Mickie James and don't know her personally. What puts me in the position to talk about what she will likely do in 2015? Just speculation. Just looking at what she's doing, looking at the WWE, and looking at TNA.

Mickie James has not retired from in-ring action. Not shocking. She is wrestling in the independent circuit. She has already had some matches since giving birth a few months ago. She is also engaged to the father of her baby boy, Magnus. And in recent interviews, she still expresses that interest in coming back to the WWE.

Will the WWE likely want her back? The diva division is not over. They are still in that dark age. On the one hand, you can say the fact that things are so bad right now will lead to the WWE wanting to inject some momentum into the diva division. They let Kharma (Awesome Kong) slip through their fingers and back to TNA. The Bellas cannot inject that momentum. Paige is not being pushed in a manner to help momentum. No one on that roster either is able to really get very over with those fans or is being pushed properly to do it. If the WWE is afraid of TNA's women's division becoming too stacked or wants to bring someone back as an answer to TNA's recent move, they might bring back Mickie James. I do not see that happening. They just do not want to push her anymore. And I don't think this woman is done winning titles. Women older than her have remained active and continued to win titles. She holds the record for most major women's titles (6 in the WWE and 3 in TNA), but the company record for the WWE is still 7 with Trish Stratus. That record will stand for as long as the WWE wants it to stand. A woman they never wanted over in the first place is not going to tie and break it. Maybe if Mickie James just accepted coming back as enhancement talent, like RVD, or some other part-time role that keeps her away from another title reign, they would be open to it. But she deserves better than that. And I think she knows that.

How about Mickie James returning to TNA? That is more likely and that is what I think is likely to happen. It has nothing to do with Awesome Kong returning this week. I was preparing to talk about Mickie James in 2015 even before what happened on Impact this week. Mickie James vs. Awesome Kong might be a dream match for many, but that was not why I was thinking she would likely return to TNA. I'll talk more about Awesome Kong next week. She left TNA in 2013 because her contract expired and she would rather be working in the WWE. TNA is not sour on having her. Moreover, she's marrying a guy that happens to be employed by TNA. Magnus has held their World title and is still someone they feature somewhat well. Not only is Mickie James returning to TNA a possibility, there is potential to run some great storylines with Mickie James and Magnus. Just don't turn it too much into a trashy soap opera. Seeing some storylines TNA and the WWE have done in recent years, they just might. Regardless, Mickie James returning to TNA could lead to her being used in a different way. She wouldn't be the first KO to leave and return. She would not even be the only KO to have given birth to a baby.

If it needs to be said, I would rather see Mickie James in the WWE. They know how to make stars and the atmosphere they put on just has the potential to be more entertaining. It has become bad these days, but TNA has never been at the WWE's height. Moreover, Mickie James has a legacy that goes beyond title reigns. That legacy is in the WWE. It is not something they handed her. It is what she went out there and did. She took a career of filler and jobber pushes and connected with the fans better than those women they were trying to develop to be the new centerpiece. Instead of people talking about her in the same discussion as men like Daniel Bryan, Zack Ryder, and CM Punk, she's just left looking like a diva that screwed herself out of a fabulous career. To make matters worse, the WWE has gone on to let their diva division collapse even worse and more women have been mistreated. You can only wonder what might have been had more people understood what was going on back then and spoke up sooner.

Just one last aside on Mickie James. I recently came across some comments from a wrestling fan on another site. She said a few things I want to talk about. First, she said that the reason Mickie James got over is because she got a rub from Trish Stratus and got to be a part of the golden age you had back then. That isn't true. Trish Stratus feuded with many female wrestlers. Aside from Mickie James, no female wrestler got over off of a title feud with Trish Stratus. Lita got over in the periphery during the first dark age. The fan brings up this notion that the WWE treated the talent more freely back in that golden age. Again, that is not what I would say. They treated the talent more respectably and efficiently. Yes, I will give you that. But freely? I would use that word to describe the first dark age. That was when many women were being pushed in interesting manners. It is in this environment that Lita and Trish started to become stars. The only stars the WWE made in the golden age were some B-tier periphery divas. Trish and Lita came out of the dark age. Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson came from WCW. Mickie James was a credible jobber that got over on her own. In my mind, "freely" implies that things are open and you have a fair opportunity. Many women were just not getting that, despite things being so respectable and efficient.

Do you need a rub to get over? Let me bring up a few men. You look at Zack Ryder. Did this guy get over because he was being pushed alongside a top star to get a rub? He wasn't even being pushed! He got over because he made his own opportunities and entertained the fans from that. It was not until after that that they latched John Cena onto him, more for Cena's benefit than Ryder's. Look at Sandow. He has become over. Do you really want to argue that it is because of The Miz, who is a former WWE Champion? Really? Really? Really? That big rub from Miz made Sandow a star? That is what you might hear Miz say in a promo. Truth is, Sandow got over because he is entertaining the fans. He has a comedy gimmick they love. He is following in the path of Santino Marella. How about Daniel Bryan? His "Yes" chant is what really helped to get him over with those fan that required a little more than him just being a great wrestler. One more example. How about Eddie Guerrero? As a heel, this guy was getting positive reactions. I remember watching a Smackdown promo with him back then. The reaction he was getting really surprised me. It's not because I thought he was a bad worker. He's a heel. Getting cheered. Why? He's just cutting a promo. He wasn't even involved in a feud with any huge stars at the time. He was getting cheered because he had connected with the fans through entertaining them. No rubs necessary.

Mickie James got over because she was pushed in a manner from which no other female wrestler pushed like that has ever become that over in the history of the diva division? Not likely. How about Mickie James got over because she did what other individuals in that company did that overcame not being pushed as top stars to get the overness you would want top stars to have? Yeah, that is more likely. Just like those guys that I talked about got over by simply entertaining the fans, that is how Mickie James did it. Trish Stratus was not doing anything huge to put Mickie James over to get her that popular and the golden age never gave women pushed like Mickie James fair opportunities. If you are going to legitimately succeed in this situation, you have to do it yourself. Whether you do or you don't, the constant depushes and mediocre treatment is going to hurt your ability to stay over, regardless of what you did with Trish Stratus and how respectable the division looks.

One last thing I want to bring up about what that fan said. She doesn't seem eager for Mickie James to come back. On the one hand, she says the divas today are not getting the same opportunities they did back then and there is no one that is an established star to put them over. On the other hand, she makes it seem like she thinks Mickie James returning would bury them. Mickie James has wrestling ability. That will help to raise the respectability of the division a little. She is over. That won't hurt in making the division interesting again. And if you are a believer in rubs, Mickie James can help you there. She has credibility. And this isn't even a diva they are likely to push as a true A+ player. You want to talk about women now getting buried? If the WWE actually had their way and their stars in the diva division had A+ overness, that would not lead to the other women getting just as over. That would make it easier to bury them. The playing field is more open now, as you would expect in a dark age. There have been women pushed better than Mickie James was. They just can't get that kind of overness. Some of these women just need to step up. I know it is not easy, especially with how controlling the WWE is. Regardless, if The Bellas were as over as Trish Stratus and AJ Lee was consistently getting big pops while she was around last year, instead of "CM Punk" chants, you might see the WWE regain that momentum. And if you still want to bring up rubs, how about Stephanie McMahon working with The Bellas and a couple established main-eventers in the men's division working with AJ Lee? You would think AJ Lee would be that established star to put over the other women. The WWE can try all they want to make stars, but stars that go out there and make themselves through simply entertaining the fans would really help that diva division.