I was worried that the whole thing just looked stupid. It's amazing how just taking away the cape makes La Luchadora look less goofy. In terms of handling this with respect, they did have this match between Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch be in the main event. In her whole career in the WWE, Mickie James never wrestled in the main event of either Raw or Smackdown. People never stop and think about what that means. If you want this woman to be the top star of your women's division, why not feature her in the main-event scene like you did Lita, Trish, Chyna, and others? What is the excuse? She's over. She didn't have the injury issues that screwed over certain other women the WWE tried to push as stars. It is just one of the indicators that the WWE did not want Mickie James over during the diva era. She might not have wrestled in the main event of Smackdown this week, but treating her return as important enough to be involved in the main-event segment was a nice gesture. It is a good sign.
Another issue I had about Mickie James being La Luchadora is that it was obviously not her the whole time. I have noticed some fans bring it up. Well, there is nothing you can do now. This is like one of the issues I have had with the recent Bray Wyatt/Randy Orton storyline. Not enough was done to sell that Randy Orton was broken to the point that he had to join The Wyatts. Why should Bray Wyatt have bought into Randy Orton? Why should the fans buy into this whole storyline? Daniel Bryan looked broken when he acted like he wanted to join The Wyatts years ago. When Randy Orton faked being friends with Seth Rollins years ago to get him where he wanted him, The Authority wanted him on their side and that relationship was there for a while. You didn't have any of that with Wyatt and Orton. Orton didn't really look devastated. There was no friendship ever between Orton and Wyatt that Orton could play with. It was just weak development. After having said all that, there is nothing you can do now. And that is the same thing you have to say about La Luchadora being Mickie James. It wasn't her the whole time, but there is nothing you can do now.
What about Mickie James being a heel? Fans are excited to have her back. Whether they brought her back as a heel or a face, they would have been excited. And she's still showing that charisma that helped her to connect with the fans for the last decade. As long as the WWE doesn't do any stupid storylines, her overness should not be hurt.
The bigger issue about her being a heel is the depth. Naomi may be good to go in the ring again, but you still have more heels than faces. Natalya, Carmella, Alexa Bliss, and Mickie James are heels. Naomi, Nikki Bella, and Becky Lynch are faces. Carmella has not had anyone proper face to work with to further her angle with James Ellsworth. Natalya and Nikki Bella have just been doing promos and brawls for a while now. And now Becky Lynch will obviously need a friend to go against both Alexa Bliss and Mickie James. That can be Naomi, but the roster is still thin. Who are the full-time enhancement talents? Will the WWE just rely on local jobbers? Not much credibility in beating them. It's hard to have three separate women's angles going on at the same time, not even counting the angle involving Maryse and Renee Young. You might say that it is great that the women are getting things to do, but it really isn't practical in the long run. If they did not bring back Mickie James, just about all the fresh matches you could have had with the available roster would have been gone through already. Then what? Whether she is a heel or a face, Mickie James at least helps the overall depth issue. But I still say it would have been better to bring her in as a face and debut someone else as La Luchadora to team with Alexa Bliss. That would give even more people to work with.
Mickie James becomes the first credible jobber of the diva era to be re-signed to the active roster since the women's revolution started. The WWE first got called out two years ago on Twitter. That led to some changes. It led to three NXT women debuting in one night on Raw. They say the revolution really got started when the butterfly title was dumped and "diva" became a bad word last year. But then Maryse was the first woman they brought back, an eye-candy diva pushed as centerpiece during the diva era. It took them a while to re-sign a credible jobber. These were the women with wrestling credibility used to put over the centerpiece and used as interim centerpiece when the top star was out. Typically, they never got too over. Mickie James put an end to that trend. It is somewhat fitting that she should be the first one back. And as I said before, they are showing some signs of treating her better this time around. Will she get the career she deserves? You will have a few years to find out.
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