10 Things You Didn’t Know About Mickie James

Today we know Mickie James by her real birth name, but that hasn’t always been the case. Prior to making her WWE debut in October 2005, Mickie had actually gone by the ring name of Alexis Laree during her time in Ohio Valley Wrestling—WWE’s developmental territory at the time.

In fact, to give credit where it’s due, Mickie’s use of the name Alexis Laree actually pre-dates her WWE days by quite some time. She came up with the name herself after fusing her stage name from when she was a dancer with her middle name, and made her debut under the resultant moniker as early as 1999.

Four years on the independent scene would then follow, during which Mickie—or rather, Alexis Laree—journeyed across promotions such as Chikara, Ring of Honor, and TNA before WWE eventually came calling.

So even though the Alexis Laree name wasn’t WWE property, it’s interesting is that they nonetheless ditched the alias for Mickie’s real name—which, again, obviously isn’t WWE property. Often we see the reverse switch, but rarely do the company scrap a made-up name in favour of a real one.