User blog:CEDJunior/A Look Back: Heel Mickie James

Among the biggest news in women's wrestling in the last week or so was Mickie James returning to WWE as a trainer for the NXT Divas. With that, fans and followers officially removed any hope that she would return to TNA after leaving back in September. I was a bit heartbroken that Mickie was out of TNA, but at least before she left, I and other fans were given the opportunity to see Mickie truly shine as a heel in her last few months as a Knockout.

I had wanted Mickie to turn heel for a long time; in fact, I wanted a heel turn for Mickie after she won her first Knockouts Championship in 2011. It wasn't until last year that they started planting seeds for Mickie to turn; beginning with her match against Velvet Sky in the UK where Mickie displayed a villainous persona in a losing effort. It was in June 7 that Mickie appeared to be jealous of the fact that Velvet was going to appear in Montgomery Gentry's music video, and she showed it by screaming at her not once, but twice during a four way #1 Contender's match that was won by Brooke Tessmacher and also included Tara. According to rumors, the original plan was to turn Mickie into a villainess and have her feud with Velvet, but Velvet's departure put the kibosh on the game plan.

When Velvet returned and eventually won the Knockouts Championship, hope for Mickie turning heel was resurrected. Mickie's transformation into a villainess was slow and steady, but it was really worth watching! A week after defeating Brooke Tessmacher in a #1 Contender's Match, Mickie had her shot against Velvet. Now, Velvet entered the match not at 100%; nursing a legit injured left knee which buckled during the bout. With Velvet down, Mickie decided to go for two quick pins before attacking the injury, a classic heel move. Despite Mickie's efforts, she was rolled up and pinned by Velvet.

Mickie stated in an exclusive video that other than being better than Velvet, she should be more vicious when she gets another chance at the title. Sure enough, she did get another shot at Velvet on May 23, and she turned up her already growing evil side in the match. The final piece de resistance came when the villainous Mickie delivered a devastating chop block to Velvet's bad knee, and captured her third Knockouts Championship after a DDT.

Despite the ruthless way she won the title, Mickie didn't turn heel that night. That would come three weeks later on Impact. Mickie had spent weeks dodging Velvet's request for a rematch, but on June 13, Velvet showed Mickie a doctor's note that cleared her to compete. With no way to talk her way out of a rematch, the evil Mickie attacked Velvet first by kicking her previously injured knee and then placing her in a cross-legged STF. So with her vicious assault towards Velvet, Mickie turned into a villainess for the first time since all the way back in 2006.

I really enjoyed watching her as a full fledged heel for the remainder of her time in TNA. I said so many times that Mickie would be a much better villain in TNA than she was in WWE, and I was right! While she was basically a crazed heel in WWE, Mickie was such an arrogant heel that even other heels like Gail Kim wanted a piece of her. Mickie's third and final Knockouts Championship reign saw her go through Velvet and Gail before she lost to ODB. According to the original plans, Mickie was booked to lose the title to the upstart Taryn Terrell at Bound For Glory, but Taryn's pregnancy and maternity leave took that plan out.

Now that Mickie's back in WWE, one has to wonder how long until she returns to the ring. I would love to see Mickie become the first-ever 10-time champion in the history of women's wrestling. I honestly don't know if I want her to be a face or a heel in WWE, mainly because if she does return to the ring as a villainess, I don't think WWE could give her as good of a character as TNA did. TNA, IMO, really delivered with Mickie's heel turn and her villainous character in her last few months. It was a long time coming, but it was worth the wait to see the evil Mickie James in the Knockouts Division.