Mickie James

Mickie Laree James (born August 31, 1979), better known simply as Mickie James, is an American professional wrestler and singer of mixed Native American-Caucasian descent, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). She is best known for her time in World Wrestling Entertainment. James began her professional wrestling career in 1999 as a valet on the independent circuit, where she was known under the name Alexis Laree. She trained in several camps to improve her wrestling abilities before working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in June 2002, where she gained national attention. After only a few appearances, she joined a stable called The Gathering and was written into angles with the group. She is also the only woman to be involved in Clockwork Orange House of Fun matches.

James appeared in WWE in October 2005 and was placed in a storyline with Trish Stratus, in which James' gimmick was that of Stratus' biggest fan turned obsessed stalker, an angle which lasted almost a year. She received a push, and she won her first WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania 22, a title she has held a total of five times. James also won her first Divas Championship at Night of Champions in 2009 to become the second Diva to hold both the Women's and Divas titles, making her a six-time champion overall. She, however, was released from the company on April 22, 2010, after which she returned to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Quotes
"High-energy, sexy, swift, in-your-face and ready to roll. Just remember that I'm going to kick your ass! I am cocky and confident in my abilities, but I'm one who never lets my aggression in the ring get the best of me."

"OVW was awesome for me. In the two years I was there, I pretty much re-learned everything that I learned in the previous five years over again, and polished everything. It changed me."

"When I first came in, there were the girls who could wrestle and the girls who didn't know how to... Girls who could wrestle were then pulled into the pillow fights and lingerie (matches)... Our women's division has really strengthened... We can go out there and put on just as good a show as any of the guys."

On Trish Stratus:

"She's awesome, very professional and very nice, and she's very talented. It's definitely a treat to work with someone who's talented, and they know what they're doing, and they know what they're talking about. It helps out a lot because then you have two minds coming together trying to work something together that's going to be entertaining and tells a story."

When asked what kept her in the independent circuit for years:

"The people. The fans. When you walk through the curtain and get in the ring and standing in front of all those fans. Just hearing them cheer you or boo you is such a rush. It's like a drug. Once you go out there and feel it, it's in your blood. There's nothing like it in the world. It's like an addiction. Being able to go out and get people to feel something. Whether it's to get them to hate you or get them to love you or make them feel sorry for you. Just to make them emotional is kind of powerful."

Early career
After a suggestion from a friend, James attended a professional wrestling school in the Washington, D.C. area. She made her professional debut on the independent circuit in 1999 as a valet for KYDA Pro Wrestling under the ring name Alexis Laree, a name created as the result of a combination of her stage name from when she was a dancer and her middle name. As Laree, she managed several male wrestlers, including managing Tommy Dreamer to win the KYDA Pro Heavyweight Championship. In March, she wrestled in her first match, an intergender tag team match with Jake Damian against American Mike Brown and Candie. She trained to improve her wrestling abilities by attending training camps such as the Funking Conservatory, a workshop run by Dory Funk, Jr., and an Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) dojo. She also started competing for Maryland Championship Wrestling, where she trained at camps run by Ricky Morton and Bobby Eaton. Due to the low salary of the independent shows, James supplemented her income by working as a waitress at an Olive Garden restaurant, and in May 2000 she posed nude for an issue of Leg Show magazine.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
While working in Ring of Honor for a year, James also debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on the company's second ever weekly pay-per-view under her Alexis Laree gimmick as a participant in a lingerie battle royal. She was not prominently featured until March 26, 2003, when she teamed with Amazing Red as part of his feud against Kid Kash—the X Division Champion—and Trinity. Weeks later, she became the first member of the Gathering, a stable led by Raven in his feud against NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett.[9] On April 16, Laree became the first (and thus far, only) woman to compete in a Clockwork Orange House of Fun match after the Gathering challenged and defeated Jarrett. She continued to wrestle with the stable when they feuded with the Disciples of The New Church, taking part in an angle with Father James Mitchell kayfabe burning her with a fireball and wrestling in another Clockwork Orange House of Fun match before leaving the company.

Ohio Valley Wrestling
After two years of sending tapes and making phone calls, as well as wrestling a tryout match with Dawn Marie, James was signed to a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment, who sent her to train at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), their farm territory, in August. Still using the Alexis Laree name, she began making television appearances for OVW on January 29, 2004 and competed in several tag team matches throughout the year. She also won a Halloween Costume Contest on October 30 and defeated Jillian Hall in a $1,000 match on November 12.

On May 17, 2005, Laree was placed into a tournament for the OVW Television Championship. She was booked to go over Mike Mondo in the first round, only to lose to Blaster Lashley in the next one. She began a feud with Beth Phoenix on July 20 after Phoenix interrupted Laree during an interview, setting up a match on July 29 which Laree lost. Their angle continued into September, with Shelly Martinez being added to the storyline to side with Phoenix against Laree. On October 12, she appeared in OVW under her real name and finished the year on the losing end of matches against Martinez and Jillian Hall.

Raw (2005-2009)
James debuted in WWE on the October 10, 2005 episode of Raw, continuing to use her real name, under the gimmick of WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus' biggest fan. The angle had the two WWE Divas competing together in tag team matches, with James' character becoming increasingly obsessed with Stratus. The storyline included a Halloween Costume Contest in which James was dressed like Stratus and helped Stratus retain the Women's Championship in a Fulfill Your Fantasy Battle Royal at Taboo Tuesday by eliminating herself and Victoria at the same time. She even began utilizing Stratus' signature finishing moves as her own during matches. James became the number one contender for the Women's Title on December 12 by defeating Victoria in a match to determine who would face Stratus at New Year's Revolution. Subsequently, the storyline between James and Stratus developed into a lesbian angle after James initiated an intimate kiss with Stratus under a sprig of mistletoe and complimented Stratus on her breasts. In the championship match at the pay-per-view, James jobbed to Stratus but continued to be enamored of her the next night on Raw, and she confessed her love for Stratus at the Royal Rumble.

On March 6 2006 the storyline had Stratus confront James, telling her that they needed time apart from each other. The duo teamed together at the March 18, 2006 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event to defeat Candice Michelle and Victoria. After the match, James agreed to honor Stratus' wishes and attempted to kiss her. After Stratus pushed her away, James' character made a complete heel turn by attacking Stratus in the ring and later vowing to destroy her. The two women wrestled each other at WrestleMania 22, where James was booked to win the match to claim her first reign as Women's Champion. During the match, despite the fact that James was playing the heel character, the fans frequently cheered James and booed Stratus whenever Stratus hit an offensive maneuver. The angle ended at Backlash during a rematch after Stratus legitimately dislocated her shoulder when James threw her out of the ring. James dropped the Women's Title on August 14 to Lita after Lita hit James with the title belt while Lita's on-screen boyfriend Edge distracted the referee, resulting in a face turn for James' on-screen persona. After the Women's Championship was vacated due to the legitimate retirement of Trish Stratus, James entered a tournament to determine the new champion. She defeated Victoria and Melina in the qualifying rounds before making it to the finals at Cyber Sunday, where she lost to Lita. The two Divas wrestled in a series of matches where Lita kayfabe chose the stipulations, all of which involved hindering James' wrestling ability. The storyline feud ended at Survivor Series, where James defeated Lita to win her second Women's Championship.

An angle was created between James and Melina on January 29 2007 when Melina became the number one contender for the Women's Title. Following a successful title defense on February 5, James teamed with Super Crazy in a mixed tag team match against Melina and Johnny Nitro. After Melina pinned James for the victory, she challenged her to a rematch for the title. James dropped the Women's Championship to Melina on February 19 and, in continuation of their storyline feud, failed to regain the title during the first ever Women's Falls Count Anywhere match in WWE history. Near the end of the match, James fell from the turnbuckle and landed on her neck but was not seriously injured.

The scripted feud between James and Melina continued on April 2 when James interrupted and attacked Melina during a photo op on Raw. At a house show in Paris, France on April 24, James won her third Women's Championship during a Triple Threat Match that also involved Victoria. Since James pinned Victoria, however, and not Melina, Jonathan Coachman announced that a rematch would take place immediately. James dropped the title back to Melina, giving her the shortest Women’s Championship reign in WWE history.

On the November 26 edition of Raw, James defeated Melina in a number one contenders match for Beth Phoenix's Women's Championship, setting up a title match between the two at Armageddon, a match in which Phoenix successfully defended her Women's title. On the April 14, 2008 edition of Raw, held in London, James defeated Phoenix to win her fourth Women's Championship. Phoenix got a rematch on the May 5 edition of Raw, but James retained her title. At SummerSlam in a Winners Take All tag team match she lost the Women's Championship to Phoenix, with Kofi Kingston's WWE Intercontinental Championship being on the line as well, losing it to Santino Marella. After James lost her Women's Championship, she had two rematches for the championship but was unsuccessful in regaining the title.

After the WWE Divas Champion Maryse was traded to Raw during the annual draft, James entered into a feud with her for the title. James defeated Maryse for the title at Night Of Champions.

Divas Champion and SmackDown, Release (2009–2010)
Following an appearance in the 25-Diva battle royal at WrestleMania XXV, James began feuding with WWE Divas Champion Maryse going into Night of Champions on July 26, 2009. At the event, James defeated Maryse to win her first Divas Championship, becoming only the second Diva in history to have held both the Women's and Divas titles. Throughout the summer, James successfully defended the title against Gail Kim and Beth Phoenix on editions of Raw, and against Alicia Fox at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on October 4. The following week on Raw, James dropped the belt to Jillian Hall after an approximate three month title reign. After the show, James was moved to the SmackDown brand for the first time in her career due to a Diva trade made by Raw guest host Nancy O'Dell.

James made her SmackDown debut on October 23 by defeating Layla. The next week, a controversial angle began that saw WWE Women's Champion Michelle McCool and Layla bully James, resulting in a five-on-five elimination tag team match at the November pay-per-view event Survivor Series, where James' team prevailed over McCool's team. On the December 3 edition of SmackDown, James became the number one contender for McCool's title by defeating Beth Phoenix and Natalya in a triple threat match. The following week, James challenged McCool for the Women's Championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, but was unsuccessful after interference from Layla. The storyline feud continued into the Royal Rumble on January 31, 2010 where James finally defeated McCool to win her fifth Women's Championship. Over the next couple of weeks, SmackDown consultant Vickie Guerrero was introduced into the rivalry, choosing to side with Team Lay-Cool after James accidentally doused her with cottage cheese. On the February 26 edition of SmackDown, McCool used her rematch clause to face James for the Women's Championship, with Guerrero acting as special guest referee. After Guerrero slapped James in the face, McCool pinned her to regain the title.

On March 9, WWE.com announced that James was diagnosed with a staph infection on her right knee. She returned on the March 22 edition of Raw, where alongside Kelly Kelly, she accompanied Eve Torres, Beth Phoenix and Gail Kim in their losing effort against Michelle McCool, Maryse and Layla, who had Vickie Guerrero and Alicia Fox in their corner. This set up a 10-Diva tag team match at WrestleMania XXVI in which James made an unsuccessful in-ring return after Guerrero pinned Kelly following a "hog" splash. James' final match in WWE aired on the April 23 edition of SmackDown where she teamed with former rival Beth Phoenix against Lay-Cool in a losing effort. She was released from WWE one day earlier on April 22.

Independent circuit (2010)
James made her in-ring return in April as part of WWC, teaming with Carlitos to defeat the team of ODB and Christopher Daniels. James won the bout, pinning Daniels after a Mickie-DT. On July 11 as part of their Anniversary weekend, she defeated ODB in a singles match. On the last day of that month, James returned to one of her early promotions, Maryland Championship Wrestling, to wrestle upstar Mia Yim in a winning effort. The following month she contested for the Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU) Championship against Mercedes Martinez but lost. She also returned to Dory Funk's promotion, recording a tag team match for ''!Bang! TV''.

Return to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2010-present)
On September 22, 2010, it was reported that James had signed a contract with TNA Wrestling and would return to the promotion on the October 7 live edition of Impact!. James returned to TNA on October 7, announcing that she would be the special guest referee for the TNA Women's Knockout Championship match between Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne and Tara at Bound for Glory. At the pay-per-view, James counted the pinfall which made Tara the new Women's Knockout Champion. Afterward, Rayne shoved James amidst an argument with Tara, resulting in James decking Rayne with a closed-fist. On the following edition of Impact! it was noted that James had her sight set on the Women's Knockout title, after a confrontaion with new champion Madison Rayne.

Other media
In 2000, James appeared on an episode of The Jenny Jones Show titled "From Nerd To Knockout".

James, along with Mr. Kennedy and Josh Mathews, represented WWE at the 2008 Republican National Convention in an effort to persuade fans to register to vote in the 2008 Presidential election.

On April 13, 2008, James, along with Layla, Melina and Kelly Kelly, appeared in an episode of Celebrity Fit Club Boot Camp. On September 5 of that same year, James appeared on the USA Network show Psych, playing a roller derby girl called Rita "Lethal Weapon" Westwood. James made a special appearance on Redemption Song which is hosted by Chris Jericho along with Candice Michelle, Maryse, and Eve Torres. It was originally aired on November 12, 2008.

James currently has one country music album. She released her first single, "Are You With Me?", on February 16, 2010. Her first album, Strangers & Angels, was then released on May 18, 2010 the album is also on iTunes.

Personal life
James owns three Morgan horses named Rhapsody, Bunny and Casanova. After she has finished her wrestling career, James plans to own a farm and be an equine trainer. Outside of wrestling, James has received her Associate of Arts degree in business administration and is studying for her Bachelor of Arts degree in operations management.

She was previously engaged to wrestler Kenny Dykstra. She was previously in a relationship with Joey Mercury. James has two tattoos: an Asian symbol meaning 'love' on her ankle and a dragon that wraps around it.

Wrestling facts

 * Finishing and signature moves
 * Mickie-DT/Laree DDT (Jumping Implant DDT)
 * Kiss Goodnight (Reverse roundhouse kick preceded by a kiss)
 * Stratusfaction (Springboard Bulldog)
 * Mick Kick (Roundhouse kick)


 * Tag teams and stables
 * The Gathering - CM Punk, Julio DiNero & Raven


 * Wrestlers managed
 * AJ Styles (ROH)
 * Christian York (ROH)
 * Joey Matthews (ROH)


 * Wrestlers trained
 * Mike Phoenix


 * Theme Music
 * "Day Dreamin' Fazes" by Kottonmouth Kings (ROH)
 * "Ice Breaker" by Dale Oliver (TNA)
 * "Just A Girl" by No Doubt (OVW)
 * "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes (ROH)
 * "Obsession" by Jim Johnston (WWE)
 * "Hardcore Country " by Mickie James (TNA)

Championships and Accomplishments

 * World Wrestling Entertainment
 * WWE Diva's Champion (1 time)
 * WWE Women's Champion (5 times)


 * CyberSpace Wrestling Federation
 * CSWF Women's Champion (1 time) (First)


 * Impact Championship Wrestling
 * ICW Junior Heavyweight Champion (1 time)


 * Premier Wrestling Federation 
 * PWF Women's Champion (1 time) (First)