Mickie James tried out for a new role in WWE, possible reason for release speculated - Reports
One of the multiple superstars to have lost their WWE jobs this Thursday was veteran Mickie James. The 41-year-old is a former 6-time Women's Champion, all of which she won during her first stint with the company.
Mickie James had left WWE in 2010 but remained an active competitor, wrestling for TNA. She returned to WWE in 2016 but was not used as much as the fans would have wanted. Though James was always credited for being in good shape, her role in WWE had been very limited in her second stint.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has now claimed that Mickie James had tried out for the role of becoming part of the announce team. However, her tryouts did not work out.
The report also claimed that she was cleared to compete despite having suffered injuries in the past, but that WWE chose not to use her. Her age could have been one of the factors in her getting released by the company, according to Meltzer:
"Wrestling is a cosmetic business, perhaps less now than in the past in some cases and especially for women, but it still partially is. Her not being used and her age made her a prime target to be cut. She did get tryouts to be a television announcer but that didn’t go anywhere."
What could be next for Mickie James?
The report went on to reiterate that James has been in good shape as of late. That, Meltzer believes, gives her a good chance of landing an opportunity with some other wrestling promotion:
"She has the advantage of being in great shape and looking young, although having so many years of television, when it comes to outside WWE, she’d have had chances elsewhere under any circumstance."
AEW could use someone with the experience of Mickie James as part of their budding women's roster. Apart from AEW, Impact Wrestling is also a strong option for James as she has already worked for the company in the past.