100 Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Moments Ever

88. Mickie James Starts The TNA Trend (2022)

WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Edge
WWE.com

Mickie James was both a WWE favourite and the reigning TNA Knockouts Champion when she brought some Hardcore Country to the 2022 women's Rumble. Well, James was technically IMPACT Knockouts Champ, because the re-rebrand back to TNA hadn't happened yet. Let's just call her TNA KO's Champion for ease though, eh?

James brought the belt with her, which once seemed impossible.

WWE under Vince McMahon was rarely in the business of promoting other companies, at least ones they didn't own. It did happen a few times with various regional leagues like Smoky Mountain, but pushing a reigning TNA champ hard on pay-per-view was next level. Mickie lasted around 11 minutes in the match before being eliminated by fellow legend Lita.

The commentators made a lot of noise about James flying in from IMPACT. Overnight, some fans started to wonder if there was scope for more cross-promotion between TNA and WWE. That'd come, but not for a while yet. By 2024, things were in full swing...

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.