"A lot of it hurt" - Former WWE Superstar gets honest about working with Ronda Rousey (Exclusive)
The legendary Mickie James opened up about working with Ronda Rousey during an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta.
While the former WWE star had a lot of admiration for Rousey, she admitted that wrestling the ex-UFC champion wasn't always a smooth experience. Mickie James appreciated Rousey's effortless transition to professional wrestling and felt that her old rival deserved to get pushed in the WWE.
James faced Rousey on a few occasions in 2018, and the veteran superstar was happy to help the former MMA star understand the fundamentals of wrestling.
"I think she was picked up the business very, very quickly, considering the background she comes from. And I said that, yes, I have a lot of love and respect for Ronda. So, maybe, if you're coming to me and going, 'Oh, she doesn't deserve it because she was the UFC and of course, she is going to get a push,' you are barking up the wrong tree because I will say that, obviously, being in the position when I was there and the one taking most of the a**-whippings from her, so that when she would get better and I could help her, you know, we could help each other. I could help her get better because she that sucked because she is an MMA girl, and a lot of it hurt," revealed Mickie James. [3:36 - 4:30]
Mickie James talks about Ronda Rousey's "killer instinct"
Mickie James wasn't done putting Ronda Rousey over as she spoke about the Royal Rumble 2022 winner's background and point-of-view towards fighting.
The reigning Knockouts Champion reminded fans that Ronda Rousey was trained to hurt people during her MMA career. James would personally find it challenging to develop a similar mindset, as she continued to explain:
"However, she is so kind and so thoughtful, and you have to remember. This is the woman that trained her entire life to be a killer, to be the baddest b**** on the planet. And, you know, the mentality that goes into that alone, like I always say, I really don't know, I've been in fights in my life, I don't know if I can be a fighter because you have to have this legit killer instinct to really want to hurt your opponent, to want to hurt people. It takes a lot for me to pull that out of me," stated James. [4:31 - 5:07]
In case you missed it, Mickie James is set to hold a Mardi Gras concert in New Orleans with country music vocal group Chapel Hart on February 18th. The event will happen down the road from the John A Alario Event Center, which will also host IMPACT Wrestling's No Surrender show on February 19th.
As for Ronda Rousey, the former RAW Women's Champion returned to the recent Royal Rumble show and won the women's match to book her WrestleMania 38 ticket.
"The Rowdy One" is slated to face Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's title, and WWE is expected to book her exceptionally well, heading into the year's most significant event in April.
What are your predictions for Rousey's 'Mania clash against The Queen? Sound off in the comments section.
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