As 2013 draws to a close, Diva Dirt writers have each picked a personal highlight to reminisce on the year gone by.
Erin’s Pick: Mickie James turns heel
Mickie James had been MIA from the Knockouts division for much of the start of 2013, but when she reemerged, she did it with a bang.
After earning a shot at Velvet Sky‘s Knockouts Title, it took Mickie two tries to finally nab the belt, defeating Velvet on the May 23rd episode of Impact by taking advantage of her injured knee. For the woman who had been a beloved babyface for her whole TNA tenure, this was unexpected. Why would she use such dirty tactics?
Mickie danced on the line between heel and babyface before finally turning heel on the June 13th edition of Impact, attacking Velvet after she told Mickie she was ready for a rematch. Velvet eventually got that rematch, but with Mickie’s new heel persona, there was nothing holding her back, and she fully exploited Velvet’s bad knee to retain the title.
Following that, Mickie went on to explain her actions in stellar promos, demonstrating her oblivious heelishness in a way that perfectly got under the skin of fans: relating her situation to that of Miley Cyrus. Yes, she of twerking fame. Mickie also played up the fact that she was simply doing what it took to get to the top of the division, not acknowledging that she was doing anything truly depraved. Her new attitude completely refreshed her character and allowed her to run free, in the span of weeks becoming one of the most interesting characters in women’s wrestling. Fans couldn’t wait to see what heel Mickie would do next.
Unfortunately, this incarnation of Mickie was short lived, as she didn’t renew her contract with TNA in September and disappeared off of television after dropping the Knockouts Title to ODB. While “the reign of heel Mickie” lasted, though, it had me entranced.
What did you think of this moment?
