WWE shocked the wrestling world when they announced IMPACT! Wrestling Knockouts Champion, Mickie James as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble on January 29th.
The ground-breaking news came as a bolt from the blue. But not only because she is the current champion for another promotion. But her departure from the company last year resulted in what is now referred to as “trash bag-gate”.
In April of last year after WWE released James from her contract she received her belongings in a trash bag. James posted an image of the bag on Twitter calling out WWE for their unceremonious gesture. The tweet went viral and resulted in the company publicly apologising to James and firing several employees responsible.
Since leaving the company, the former multi-time women’s champion made history with NWA by producing the promotion’s first-ever all-women’s PPV Empowerrr and returned to IMPACT! Wrestling.
Hardcore Country was a recent guest on The Ariel Helwani Show, where she spoke about the “trashbag incident” and everything that transpired after it.
Here’s what the legend said:
“So it was a weird day anyway. I was walking out the door to go do a photoshoot for my single I had coming out. So I was literally in one of the boxes, I actually got two boxes, but when one of the boxes had arrived so I just kind of brought it in.
I was like, oh this is my stuff can I use any of this for my shoot like a jacket, because my jackets are in a drawer and stuff, so I wonder if there’s anything in there. So then I open it, and it’s in a trash bag, and I see it, and I’m like of course, whatever. Personally, I wasn’t as offended as the rest of the world was offended, just because I feel like it does suck and it is very, um, the symbology of it all, you know, even when you think about like, professionally or however you feel personally how you’ve been professionally booked, or any of those things, all those things aside, like that bit alone is kind of like already on a low.
I posted it as a sarcastic, [my sense of humor is sarcastic, like oh this is pretty on par guys, thanks] and then left and went to do whatever, and then I look down, and my phone is blown up, and I missed all these calls, important calls from Stephanie to Hunter to Johnny to um Vince. And I called Vince back that day, and he personally apologized to me, we had a whole conversation, so there was a lot of it.”
James went on to state she holds no resentment toward WWE for releasing her although it was a “heartbreaking” experience:
“I think anyone’s heartbroken, you know the locker room is your family. Those are your friends, your family, those people you’ve been traveling with for the last x amount of years. And there’s obviously some of those relationships that, even from that separation alone, are going to get cut off.
And I think watching the product immediately is always kind of, I’ll watch it now, but I wasn’t watching it for a couple of months, you know, I want to support my friends, I love my friends, so I want to keep up on what they’re doing and stuff, so uh I don’t resent it now.”
Mickie James recently successfully defended the IMPACT! Wrestling Knockouts Championship against Deonna Purrazzo in an epic Texas Death Match at Hard To Kill. Her win meaning she will walk into WWE’s Royal Rumble with the title of a rival promotion around her waist.
h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcript
What do you make of Mickie James’ reflection on her WWE release and upcoming Royal Rumble appearance? Let us know in the comments below.
