In the fall of 2005, Mickie James debuted as an overzealous fan of Trish Stratus, someone who was incredibly energetic and, at times, abrasive in their fandom of the WWE Women's champion. She was always by Trish's side, flashing a big smile and expressing her excitement over working with her idol. But as time progressed, it became clearer and clearer that Virginian was completely unhinged. First, she kissed Trish on a holiday episode of Raw. Then, her jealousy over Ashley Massaro's friendship with Trish began to rear its ugly head, leading to numerous physical encounters between she and the 2005 Diva Search winner. The growing tensions culminated when the increasingly frustrated Trish told Mickie she needed space, that she needed time away from her stalker. The assertion by Trish led to Mickie snapping, losing all sense of reality. On the Saturday Night's Main Event prior to WrestleMania 22, she attacked her role model, leaving her lying with her own Stratusfaction finishing maneuver. From there, she delved further into madness, kidnapping Ashley and holding her hostage in the center of the ring. It was a ploy, a master plan by Mickie to further punish her both mentally and physically ahead of their match at the Showcase of the Immortals. On the grandest stage of them all, Mickie not only dominated Trish throughout the bout, working on an injured knee, but picked up the win and the Women's Championship by playing mind games. She went as far as to plunge her hand into the blonde bombshell's nether regions, shocking both the champion and the Chicago crowd. Another of Trish's signature moves, the Chick Kick, would prove her own downfall. What was one of the best and most revolutionary programs in women's wrestling history was cut short, unfortunately, when Trish suffered a gruesome dislocated shoulder and was forced to the sidelines shortly after the classic WrestleMania bout. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do6aeIaGiT0
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
