By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

Although she could be playing coy, former WWE Diva Mickie James sounds like she's not ready to jump back into a regular pro wrestling schedule. TNA has reportedly shown interest in James, who said in an interview with Kevin Eck of the Baltimore Sun that she's just taking dates here and there for now while focusing on her full-time music career.

James said she hasn't watched TV wrestling since being let go by WWE in April, mainly due to being devastated by the release. James said she didn't understand WWE's decision the time, but, without being specific, she can now recognize signs that led to her release.

"I didn't watch wrestling. I still haven't seen a wrestling show and it's been three months. The only show I've watched was right after I was released and they were chanting, 'We want Mickie, we want Mickie.' And I started bawling. It just really broke me, so I didn't know what I wanted to do. So, I started doing some dates. It's definitely a different feel. Once you've wrestled in front of 90,000 people, where do you go from there?" James said.

"I just think it was the different direction of the Divas," James said on why she thinks she was released. "No one can give 100 percent all the time and they can surely try. Looking back, if I take myself from the picture, there was writing on the wall and if I wasn't so indulged in the business, I would have seen it."

"I never would have shut that chapter on my own. I never would have cut that string on my own, so maybe they had to shut that door on me for to fully focus on my music, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise."

James said she doesn't think part of the reason WWE released her was because of her outside music project. She said it would have made sense for WWE to push her musical pursuits because it would have enhanced her character, the company's perception, and WWE's attempt to be more mainstream.

"I thought WWE would be on board with me being more than a one-dimensional Diva. I thought it would have made me more valuable, made the company more money, and put me out there with more mainstream exposure," she said. "They never mentioned that. I know it's a stigma and it's been brought up before, so unless it was behind closed doors, but to my face, it was always, 'Go get 'em.'"

Regarding the Piggy James storyline on Smackdown when she was feuding with Lay-Cool, James took issue with the payoff more than the storyline itself. She said she didn't know if WWE was ribbing her for weight or trying to take away some of her fanbase, but she just tried to roll with it.

"I don't know where it came from. Were they ribbing me or just poking fun? I sat back and prayed about it. There's still not one female that can go out there and get a reaction I can," she said. "And maybe they were trying to pull the fanbase away from me, but I got the championship, then they took it away. After six months of embarrassment and ridicule, that's the payoff? I had to swallow my pride."

James added: "I don't think that whole Mean Girls gimmick was over until they put me with them. I don't think they got heel reactions until they did that storyline with me. It was vanilla before that."

James also talked extensively about her current music career, plans for a second album, plans for a musical tour with a new management team putting it together, and more details. Two parts of James's interview with Kevin Eck of the Baltimore Sun are in the videos below.

 

 

Videos URL: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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