Mickie James WWE Career (2016-2019)

On October 13, 2016, it was announced that James would return to WWE's developmental brand NXT at the NXT TakeOver: Toronto event on November 19, competing against Asuka for the NXT Women's Championship. On the October 26 episode of NXT, James cut a promo where she formally re–introduced herself and challenged Asuka for the championship. At the event, James was defeated and after the match Asuka refused to shake her hand as a sign of disrespect. On December 8, it was announced that James had signed a multi–year contract with WWE. According to James, she asked to return under her previous character, which she later would see as a "throwback". On the January 17, 2017 episode of SmackDown Live, James made her return by helping Alexa Bliss retain her SmackDown Women's Championship against Becky Lynch in a Steel Cage match, revealing herself as the woman under the "La Luchadora" gimmick and establishing herself as a heel character, while also allying with Bliss in the process. She competed in her first match in nearly seven years in a WWE ring on January 29, 2017, at the Royal Rumble pay–per–view, teaming with Bliss and Natalya against Lynch, Naomi, and Nikki Bella in a losing effort. James went on to face Lynch at the Elimination Chamber pay–per–view in another losing effort. She would defeat Lynch in a rematch on the edition of February 14 of SmackDown, but would lose a Two-Out-of-Three Falls match two weeks later to end the storyline Shortly after Wrestlemania, James was drafted to Raw as part of the 2017 Superstar Shake–Up. In October, after being named the No. 1 Contender by Raw General Manager Kurt Angle, James faced Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, but was unsuccessful in capturing the title. A few weeks later on the edition of October 30 of Raw, James once again challenged Bliss for the title in the main event but came up short. On January 28, 2018, at the Royal Rumble, James entered the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match at No. 26 and lasted over 8 minutes before being eliminated by long–time rival Trish Stratus. The following month, James competed in the first-ever women's Elimination Chamber match at the namesake pay–per–view, where she entered at No. 5 and eliminated Sonya Deville after a diving Lou Thesz press off the top of a pod before being eliminated by Bayley. On the February 26 episode of Raw, James proceeded to turn heel and realigned herself with Bliss. At WrestleMania 34, In May, James competed unsuccessfully in a Triple Threat match against Bliss and Bayley, as well as a Gauntlet match in attempts to qualify for the women's Money in the Bank ladder match. In August, James returned from a brief hiatus at the sides of Alexa Bliss and Alicia Fox. With Bliss, the tandem began a scripted feud with her former rivals and WWE Hall of Famers Trish Stratus and Lita, setting up a tag team match at WWE Evolution, WWE's first-ever all-women's pay–per–view. On November 18 at Survivor Series, James was selected by Bliss to be a part of Team Raw along with Nia Jax, Tamina, Bayley and Sasha Banks to go against Team SmackDown’s Naomi, Carmella, Sonya Deville, Asuka and Mandy Rose. Team Raw came out victorious after Jax was the sole survivor. The victory also upped James’ undefeated streak to 5–0 at Survivor Series. Brand switches and departure (2019–2021) As part of the 2019 Superstar Shake-up, James was drafted back to the SmackDown brand. During a live event on June 1, it was reported that James had suffered a torn ACL. On July 16, James underwent successful knee surgery and would be out of action for seven to nine months. During her recovery from injury, James would become a commentator for Main Event. Her first post-draft appearance occurred on January 4, 2021, during the special "Legends Night" episode of Raw, appearing alongside several other WWE legends. That same month, James competed in the women's Royal Rumble match entering at No. 19, but was eliminated by Lacey Evans. In April, she appeared on stage during the opening of WrestleMania 37 alongside the rest of the active roster. On April 15, 2021, WWE announced that they had released Mickie James along with several other talent. Prior, she had participated in commentary on shows such as Main Event and NXT. Her release was met with some controversy, as she claimed her belongings were sent to her in a trash bag. Several other former talent such as Jillian Hall, Maria Kanellis and Gail Kim voiced similar experiences when they were fired. The senior employee responsible for this was let go, and James received a public apology from Stephanie McMahon. #wwedivas #wwe #wwedivas #wwewomen #mickiejames #alexabliss #alexablisswwe #womenwrestling