Black Widow
07-09-2010, 06:38 PM
Former WWE Diva, turned singer to wrestle in Dundalk July 31
The last time Mickie James watched a wrestling show, she broke down in tears. It was April 26, the night of the annual WWE Draft, and it was taking place in her hometown of Richmond, Va.
Just a week prior, the former six-time champion and one of the most popular WWE Divas of all time, was unceremoniously released by World Wrestling Entertainment.
"I actually got released the day I was going to radio stations and promoting the show coming to town, because that's where I'm from," James said in a phone interview July 2.
But her emotional outburst that night wasn't because she had lost her job, it was because of the outpouring of support from her devoted fans. James hadn't planned to watch the show, but received a phone call from a friend telling her to turn it on. It was during a Divas tag team match and a "We want Mickie," chant broke out.
"I heard them chanting, ‘We want Mickie,' and I started bawling; I cried like a baby," she said. "I haven't watched wrestling since."
Keeping a busy schedule has helped the bubbly brunette from dwelling on her release from one of her dream jobs by pursuing another of her life's ambitions, becoming a country music star.
"Really, I'm just trading one passion for another," James said.
Her album, titled "Strangers and Angels," hasn't exactly burned up the charts since debuting in May, but has generally received favorable reviews.
Following a whirlwind few weeks of promoting the album, James will make her return to the ring later this month in Dundalk at Maryland Championship Wrestling's Shamrock Cup event.
"It's a blessing how that worked out, it's like I've come full circle," James said.
About a decade ago, James wrestled under the moniker Alexis Laree for MCW. She attended their wrestling school, Bone Breakers, and said the company is where she started to come into her own as a professional wrestler.
"Danny [McDervitt, former owner and founder of MCW] is a dear friend, and he really helped me out, getting me in touch with the right people when I was trying to break into the business," she said. "Plus, I found my niche as a performer [in MCW] and really started to separate myself from just being another wrestling girl."
Her match July 31 against Mia Yim, who recently had a tryout with TNA, will be James' first on U.S. soil since her WWE career came to an end. Although James has wrestled a few times overseas since her release - she did a show in Trinidad during the Fourth of July weekend - most of her time has been occupied promoting her country music album.
James described the 11-track LP as a sound unique to her, but said it's "somewhere between Tanya [Tucker] and Shania [Twain]."
"Traveling the world, even if I saw most of it out of a plane, bus or hotel window, I've been influenced by so many different sounds," she said. "You'll hear bluegrass, R and B, jazz; it pulls from lots of different music."
While James had aspirations of being a singer long before thinking of donning wrestling boots, out of fear and not knowing anything about the music business, she was hesitant to try. About a year ago, after climbing to the top of the mountain as a female wrestler, she decided she was ready for a new challenge.
"If you are willing to make the sacrifice and work hard, you can truly do it," James said. "People asked me, after I had achieved all that I did in wrestling, ‘why would you want to do this when you have to start all over again?' And I said, ‘Why wouldn't I?' It's a whole new journey and chapter in my life and it's really exciting."
Growing up on a horse farm in Virginia, James said she was introduced to country music at an early age by her stepfather. While they shared a love for country music legends Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Randy Travis, it was Tim McGraw's "Indian Outlaw" that made her a country music lifer.
"That's the song that nailed it home," said James, who is of Native American descent. "That was my song, I would rock out to that driving to school in my T-top Camaro. That song as about me!"
James said she's still working out details on tour dates, but her country music career will afford her a chance to perform in front of her hometown fans next month - something her WWE release robbed her of doing - when she opens for Gretchen Wilson and Montgomery Gentry at K95's Countryfest in Richmond on Aug. 28, three days before her 31st birthday.
As for getting back in the ring, James said she'll continue to take bookings like the one in Dundalk later this month, but isn't sure about a full-time return to the ring.
"Right now, I don't know. It depends on the circumstances, but I'm really focused on the music," she said. "But who knows. Never say never, right?"
carrollcountytimes.com
The last time Mickie James watched a wrestling show, she broke down in tears. It was April 26, the night of the annual WWE Draft, and it was taking place in her hometown of Richmond, Va.
Just a week prior, the former six-time champion and one of the most popular WWE Divas of all time, was unceremoniously released by World Wrestling Entertainment.
"I actually got released the day I was going to radio stations and promoting the show coming to town, because that's where I'm from," James said in a phone interview July 2.
But her emotional outburst that night wasn't because she had lost her job, it was because of the outpouring of support from her devoted fans. James hadn't planned to watch the show, but received a phone call from a friend telling her to turn it on. It was during a Divas tag team match and a "We want Mickie," chant broke out.
"I heard them chanting, ‘We want Mickie,' and I started bawling; I cried like a baby," she said. "I haven't watched wrestling since."
Keeping a busy schedule has helped the bubbly brunette from dwelling on her release from one of her dream jobs by pursuing another of her life's ambitions, becoming a country music star.
"Really, I'm just trading one passion for another," James said.
Her album, titled "Strangers and Angels," hasn't exactly burned up the charts since debuting in May, but has generally received favorable reviews.
Following a whirlwind few weeks of promoting the album, James will make her return to the ring later this month in Dundalk at Maryland Championship Wrestling's Shamrock Cup event.
"It's a blessing how that worked out, it's like I've come full circle," James said.
About a decade ago, James wrestled under the moniker Alexis Laree for MCW. She attended their wrestling school, Bone Breakers, and said the company is where she started to come into her own as a professional wrestler.
"Danny [McDervitt, former owner and founder of MCW] is a dear friend, and he really helped me out, getting me in touch with the right people when I was trying to break into the business," she said. "Plus, I found my niche as a performer [in MCW] and really started to separate myself from just being another wrestling girl."
Her match July 31 against Mia Yim, who recently had a tryout with TNA, will be James' first on U.S. soil since her WWE career came to an end. Although James has wrestled a few times overseas since her release - she did a show in Trinidad during the Fourth of July weekend - most of her time has been occupied promoting her country music album.
James described the 11-track LP as a sound unique to her, but said it's "somewhere between Tanya [Tucker] and Shania [Twain]."
"Traveling the world, even if I saw most of it out of a plane, bus or hotel window, I've been influenced by so many different sounds," she said. "You'll hear bluegrass, R and B, jazz; it pulls from lots of different music."
While James had aspirations of being a singer long before thinking of donning wrestling boots, out of fear and not knowing anything about the music business, she was hesitant to try. About a year ago, after climbing to the top of the mountain as a female wrestler, she decided she was ready for a new challenge.
"If you are willing to make the sacrifice and work hard, you can truly do it," James said. "People asked me, after I had achieved all that I did in wrestling, ‘why would you want to do this when you have to start all over again?' And I said, ‘Why wouldn't I?' It's a whole new journey and chapter in my life and it's really exciting."
Growing up on a horse farm in Virginia, James said she was introduced to country music at an early age by her stepfather. While they shared a love for country music legends Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Randy Travis, it was Tim McGraw's "Indian Outlaw" that made her a country music lifer.
"That's the song that nailed it home," said James, who is of Native American descent. "That was my song, I would rock out to that driving to school in my T-top Camaro. That song as about me!"
James said she's still working out details on tour dates, but her country music career will afford her a chance to perform in front of her hometown fans next month - something her WWE release robbed her of doing - when she opens for Gretchen Wilson and Montgomery Gentry at K95's Countryfest in Richmond on Aug. 28, three days before her 31st birthday.
As for getting back in the ring, James said she'll continue to take bookings like the one in Dundalk later this month, but isn't sure about a full-time return to the ring.
"Right now, I don't know. It depends on the circumstances, but I'm really focused on the music," she said. "But who knows. Never say never, right?"
carrollcountytimes.com