Mickie James Talks WWE Return, And Original Surprise Plan
Who was the mind behind Mickie James' recent WWE return announcement?
Mickie James recently appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show to talk about her upcoming WWE return at the 2021 Royal Rumble.
With WWE opting to announce 19 of the 30-woman field for the incoming Royal Rumble match on SmackDown last week, James would tell the MMA face that she was “shocked, very shocked” when word reached her about popping back up in the company again.
When nudged on who was the mind behind her unexpected comeback in Vince McMahon's company, the former WWE Women's Champion would note that WWE Talent Relations head John Laurinaitis was the person who got in touch with Impact Executive Vice President Scott D’Amore about the idea. From there, D'Amore would throw the idea James' way to see how she felt about it all.
On top of this, James would reveal that the original plan was to have the current Impact Knockouts Champion show up as a surprise on the night of the PPV itself. But those plans changed when it became clear WWE wanted to hype up the show with the announcement of some of the starry names set to throw down in the match. James had no clue said reveal was about to go down the day before her Hard to Kill PPV bout with Deonna Purrazzo, either.
This very much lines up with Summer Rae's recent story of not being aware of this announcement being on the horizon, with the fellow returning star also being under the impression that she was set to be a surprise entrant.
All in all, when summing up how she felt about the whole turn of events, James would state:
“It felt amazing. It shows a level of respect and gratitude. It was a cool move from their part and it’s cool to be able to represent Impact.”
It's worth adding that James also revealed that she's stayed on good terms with WWE since her release last April, an exit made even more controversial by the fact her belongings were shoved in a trash bag, with the sure-fire Hall of Famer noting that she received personal apology phone-calls from Laurinaitis, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, and Triple H.