Mickie James Opens Up On Health Scare, Her Title Match Against Tara

TNA Knockout and former WWE Diva Mickie James had an exclusive interview with Diva Dirt this past weekend to hit a number of topics heading into her championship match against Tara on Sunday.

It’s been a long time coming (two years to be precise!), but schedules finally aligned, and eight-time champion and all-around beloved wrestling star Mickie James finally joins us here at Diva Dirt to discuss her triumphant return to the ring after a health scare, facing Knockouts Champion Tara at Final Resolution this Sunday (December 9), and filming a music video with the one and only Trish Stratus.

Things have come full circle for Mickie in the past couple of years. Once the crown jewel of WWE’s Divas division, Mickie was abruptly — and shockingly — released in April 2010, and later joined TNA, where she made appearances under the name Alexis Laree long before we knew her as Trish Stratus’ kooky fan. She’s also back on the independent scene — in fact, she talks to us from backstage at an independent event — where she plugged away for six years trying to break into the WWE.

In this exclusive interview, Mickie reveals her thoughts on her release, her return to the independent scene, evaluates her growth as a performer and her long, prestigious career as an eight-time champion.

The former Knockouts Champion also talks about her new album which is due next March, her classic feud with Trish, receiving advice from Lita, Beth Phoenix‘s retirement, wrestlers she hasn’t wrestled but would like to, and the dying breed that is the women’s wrestler in the mainstream.

"It was pretty scary. I didn't get into a whole big ordeal as far as my surgery went because it was so scary and very personal, and kind of humbling in a sense. In this industry, we're so accustomed to fighting off pain or negating it, and working through it, sometimes we don't take little things very seriously. Most times when we think of getting hurt or having to go to the hospital, it's usually for to do with an injury in the ring, so for it to be for something personal and to have this mass… and thank God it was benign."