WWE "Never Understood" This Mickie James Pitch

Vince McMahon and other WWE chiefs didn't get a gimmick Mickie James pitched.

Mickie James WWE Royal Rumble 2022
WWE.com

HARDCORE COUNTRY!

Mickie James revealed during a recent interview with Kurt Angle's podcast that she once pitched to bring her "Hardcore Country" gimmick to WWE screens. Sadly for Mickie, Vince McMahon didn't really get what the character was about - other members of the creative team were also frosty on it.

There might've been a touch of TNA bias in there stemming from Mickie's prior run with that persona there. That's a guess, but James did hint that McMahon doesn't like things he himself didn't create. That could've convinced him that "Hardcore Country" would flop on Raw or SmackDown.

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Mickie was gutted, because she really thought people would dig her country singer look on WWE TV a few years ago.

At the same time, James described WWE's hesitance as "a blessing in disguise". She's not so sure her recent 2022 Royal Rumble appearance would've made the same impact (ahem) had she been rocking that look on WWE programming for years anyway.

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Basically, on this occasion, McMahon's natural aversion to things created in other wrestling promotions worked in Mickie's favour. She said that "everything happens for a reason".

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.