10 Wrestlers Who Flirted With Other Careers (And Then Came Back)
6. Mickie James
Mickie James is easily one of the greatest female wrestlers in the history of the business, yet WWE's awful handling of the talented grappler in 2009 and 2010 afforded her the opportunity to branch out and focus on another one of her true loves.
Late-2009 saw the introduction of the horrendous 'Piggy James' rivalry for Mickie against LayCool. Before you could muster the words "be a star," James found herself being ridiculed for her appearance on WWE television for several months. It was classless, it was in bad taste, and it was, sadly, classic WWE.
By April 2010, Mickie was released by the company as they looked to go in a different direction with their women's division. A direction that somehow didn't have a spot for one of the five best female workers of the day at that time.
Still, the end of this WWE run allowed the five-time WWE Women's Champion to realise her musical ambitions. Fast-forward to May of that year, and Mickie's "Strangers & Angels" album was released by Entertainment One.
After working several independent shows, James would return to the international wrestling stage by signing with TNA in September 2010. Mickie would spend the best part of five years with TNA, continuously proving why she is one of the all-time greats - and she'd also continue to scratch that music itch with a second album, Somebody's Gonna Pay, in 2013.