WWE News Roundup: Top name to bring back old gimmick? Legend criticizes current feud; Roman Reigns' new record (January 16, 2022)

#2. Mickie James discloses how her upcoming WWE Royal Rumble appearance came about

WWE fans have been reasonably excited ever since the promotion confirmed that Mickie James would be in the 2022 Women's Royal Rumble match.

James recently told Ariel Helwani that the company's Head of Talent Relations, Johnny Laurinaitis, reached out to IMPACT Wrestling Executive Vice President Scott D'Amore to initiate talks regarding her Royal Rumble appearance:

"Johnny (Laurinaitis) reached out to Scott (D'Amore) to first just talk to him professionally because… this has never really been done before by them. So definitely, they talked first to see if this was going to be something because they’ve worked together, IMPACT worked together with WWE in the past for other things, you know, for when Flair went in the Hall of Fame and Christian Cage and all that stuff, so it wasn’t unforeseen that it could possibly happen," revealed Mickie.

The IMPACT Knockouts Champion added that Scott D'Amore reached out to her to see if she had any interest in entering the Women's Royal Rumble. According to James, there had been talks about keeping her upcoming appearance in the multi-person contest a surprise:

"So I think that’s why Scott first reached out to me to see what my interest was. And then obviously, we were all able to make this happen somehow. And I think it was going to be a surprise, we talked about having it as a surprise. But you know, the announcement [and] the response back from the announcement kind of has blown my mind," added James.

One of the many reasons Mickie James' return to Vince McMahon's company has got everyone talking is because of the controversial circumstances surrounding her release last year.

However, with the 'Forbidden Door' seemingly being opened by WWE, it remains to be seen who else will step through.