Former WWE Women’s and Divas Champion Mickie James sparked rumors of a possible return to WWE this week by rekindling her relationship with the sports-entertainment organization. The Virginia-native is training the organization’s developmental female talent at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida for the week, and attended Thursday night’s NXT live event in Tampa. WWE.com caught up with James for an exclusive interview, as she discussed her trip to the Sunshine State, her recent endeavors and whether fans will see her return to the WWE ring.
In response to how her visit to the state-of-the-art facility materialized, James states, “I got a call from Talent Relations, and they asked if I would be interested in coming down, checking it out and working with some of the girls here. Of course, I jumped all over it; I was happy to do it. The place is amazing, it really is mind-blowing. We had all prayed for something like this [when we were] breaking in.”
In addition to teaching the girls how to wrestle, James focused on bringing their personalities out. She explains, “Mostly being vocal in the ring and being vocal while they’re working instead of just thinking about what their moves are and what they need to do in there. Actually being who they are.”
Though she came to Florida to assist WWE’s female developmental talent, James is still interested in returning the company as a performer.
“Of course, I would absolutely love that, but you never know,” James says in response to whether her visit to the WWE Performance Center means she’s coming back. “I’m just trying to take advantage of this opportunity. If I can pass a little knowledge of what I know, then hopefully that will do something, if not for me, then for the future of WWE and women’s wrestling itself.”
Should James return to WWE, she would be most interested in working with three particular Divas: Natalya, AJ Lee and Brie Bella.
“I would love to work with Natalya; we only had a couple matches when I was there. I would love to work with AJ Lee, and I think Brie [Bella] has really come a long way since I was in WWE, so I’d love to do some stuff with her,” remarked James.
James also recalls her career with WWE, including WrestleMania 22 and the “Piggy James” angle, and reveals which Divas at the WWE Performance Center stood out in her eyes. The full interview is available here.
