The following is an excerpt from a new Mickie James interview at AOL Fanhouse:
Wrestling-wise, you’re not on the “big stage” at this point with WWE, have you looked at the possibility — even with the music career that you’re trying to get really rolling here — has the notion of maybe going to work for TNA Wrestling, which has a much less demanding road schedule, has that popped into your head? Or are you trying to step back and really focus on the music at this point?
Well certainly I’ve entertained the thought and it’s one of those things … there has to be this beautiful marriage between the two. Obviously my music right now is in the forefront, and if there’s a way to be able to do it and still … you know, because TNA’s schedule is certainly less demanding, maybe what, 100 dates out of the year? Obviously it would give me a lot more time, but it would also give me that platform to be able to be there for my wrestling fans and hope that they would support me with my music. It’s been really awesome because all the feedback from my fans has been amazing. Of course they wanna see me in the ring, they wanna see me wrestle, but they’ve been really supportive and there’s been a lot of positive feedback for the album, even reviews from Country Weekly and in the country music world it’s gotten a lot of positive feedback. So, if it’s right, it’ll be right and it’ll happen. But it’s gotta be the right fit, that’s all.
I mean, you still wrestle from time to time, but not as much as you had been with WWE. How much do you get that itch?
You know what, it’s an amazing feeling, from the time you come out and bounce … I bounce [laughing] … from the time I bounce through the curtain until the time I bounce on back, that’s just an amazing feeling, and it’s one of those feelings that’s really hard to put a finger on or to explain or replace in your life. So it’s definitely a passion and that type of feeling can only be felt when you’re in the ring. And I love it, man. I wouldn’t have sacrificed 11 years of my life and really done that if I didn’t love it as much as I did. And I still love it … I mean, granted it was like a heartbreaking experience for me (being let go by WWE), you know, it was like a divorce almost [laughing]. At first I didn’t want to wrestle at all, I was heartbroken, but now I’m over the heartbreak. You live and you learn and you move on, and so I’m building from that and making it stronger.
There’s certain people out there that I’ve always wanted to wrestle and I’m getting a chance to be able to work with them. Like O.D.B. (Jessica Kresa), I never really worked with her and I got to wrestle with her. And then Awesome Kong, I have a match coming up with her and I always wanted to work with her ever since I saw her on TNA, I thought she was incredible. Even friends of mine who I haven’t wrestled in 10 years or whatever it may be, because I’ve been on the road or been with WWE and you just can’t do that thing, I can go back and wrestle them now. So, I don’t know, we’ll see.
You can read the full Mickie James interview online at Fanhouse.com.
