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Former WWE Women's Champion Mickie James is currently on her Last Rodeo, but it seems fans could have lost her in the world of wrestling years ago had the promotion not come knocking.
James is currently working for IMPACT Wrestling with the current storyline that the next time she loses a match, she will retire from professional wrestling. But it seems that Hardcore Country was prepared to walk away from the wrestling industry all the way back in 2016.
During a recent appearance on Wrestling with Rip Rogers, Mickie James revealed that she contemplated retirement when she celebrated the birth of her son.
"I had the opportunity to go away when I had Donovan [her son] and then obviously, right before I was gonna go back to WWE in 2016 before that Asuka match, I was really going to retire then," Mickie James said.
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James added that her reluctance to retire on the independent scene made her want to quit. However, just then, WWE came calling.
"I was like, not that I can’t wrestle and I can’t go anymore but I don’t wanna retire on the indies in Hoboken in front of 200 people. I just don’t. So I just would rather quietly go in the sunset and stop taking bookings and I’d had Donovan and maybe just try to think about [the] next chapter and then NXT happened and then I ended up re-signing and having a whole second run and it was pretty awesome." [H/T: POST Wrestling]
Mickie James plans to focus on real-life things outside of wrestling in the future
While Mickie James is still competing in the ring at a high level, she's getting to a point where she wants to focus on things outside of the wrestling industry.
During the same interview, James admitted that while she's grateful for her time with IMPACT Wrestling right now, she's ready to focus on her real life in the future.
"It was amazing and I’m grateful for it now and IMPACT but I do think I have so much going on right now in wrestling and out of wrestling that I just want more time to focus on it," Mickie James said. "And yeah, I think one last run and it’s time to, you know, just do things, real-life things."
James is currently on her Last Rodeo in IMPACT Wrestling. After losing her Knockouts Title at Sacrifice and getting betrayed by best friend Chelsea Green, James teased retirement. She stated that the next match she loses would be her last in the industry. Since the announcement, James has won all her bouts, recently defeating Green on the October 22 IMPACT taping.
How different would women's wrestling look today if James had retired from the industry back in 2016? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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