Mickie James was one of the wrestlers cut by WWE on April 15. While some releases were unexpected, James’ wasn’t due to her not wrestling a singles match since breaking her nose while facing Zelina Vega back on September 21, 2020. The 41-year-old’s former Divas and Women’s Champion’s only match since then was as part of the women’s Royal Rumble. Although it was apparent WWE had no plans for her as she didn’t make any eliminations and was likely only involved to help fill the numbers.
What’s next for James remains to be seen, but with her husband Nick Aldis being the current NWA World Champion and having significant influence, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see her join Billy Corgan’s promotion. However, she may not see her future being strictly in the ring. As it turns out that her two nights on commentatory during the NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Pre-Shows which went under the radar of many fans, was her official tryout for a full-time commentary role. Her tryout consisted of calling Zoey Stark vs. Toni Storm on night 1 and Drake Maverick & Killian Dain vs. Breezango on night 2, but clearly, WWE wasn’t impressed enough to give her the position.
Female commentators are still not standard in pro wrestling. Still, WWE did take the initiative by giving Renee Young the opportunity to be the first woman to call an entire episode of Raw. She’d go on to become a constant behind the announcer desk but chose to depart the company last year. Additionally, Beth Phoenix joined the NXT announce team in 2019 and has been a regular since, with it being hard now to imagine the show without her.
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