Mickie James believes in asking for forgiveness rather than permission.
The wrestling legend recently had an interview with Chris Van Vliet. She talked about things such as getting to use her real name in WWE, being inducted in TNA Hall of Fame, and more.
During the interview, Mickie discussed her famous feud with Trish Stratus and their WrestleMania 22 match. The former Women’s Champion dived deep into the story behind her infamous gesture during the bout that has since been deleted from WWE history. James revealed that she had gotten permission for only part of it through their agent:
“Steve Keirn was our agent. I had asked Steve Keirn, ‘Can I lick my finger?’ Clearly, that’s not what I did. He was like, ‘Lick your finger?’ I was like, Well, yeah, I mean, I’m grabbing, wouldn’t I?
I’ve been trying to get my hands on her, you know, forever. This would be my dream come true, right? And he’s like, ‘I will see.’ I went away, and he comes back, and he goes, ‘Yeah, okay, I think you can lick your fingers.’ Fine, whatever. Sorry, Steve Keirn.”
I Had Never Received A High Five: Mickie James
Mickie James was placed in a storyline with Trish Stratus upon her main roster debut in October 2005. Originally posing as Trish’s biggest fan, James soon turned into an obsessed stalker. During their WrestleMania 22 Women’s title match, Mickie grabbed Stratus’ crotch during a spot and then proceeded to lick her finger.
The TNA Hall of Famer thought that the gesture would earn her a high five from Vince McMahon, who had never praised her performance like that before. The former WWE Chairman, however, was not as enthusiastic, and James actually was scolded by Mr. McMahon:
“I thought in my heart and in my soul, I honestly believed I was going to walk back through that curtain, and I had never received a high five. I’d seen other women get high fives from Vince and thumbs up and all these things. I got thumbs up before. I got a few thumbs up.
I thought I was going to get the biggest hug of a lifetime, and fist bumps, maybe even a hoist on a shoulder and out the door, something for being so brilliant. It’s not what happened at all.
Go back through the curtain and Vince is pissed. He’s like, ‘That was crass! Do you know what we’re gonna have to do? How much money it’s gonna cost to edit that and to pull it from everything? We’re a publicly traded company! What are you thinking?’”
James discussed how the scolding brought her down from the high of a lifetime. Though the former Divas champion noted that McMahon clearly did not hate her too much since she remained champion afterward. Mickie believes that deep down, he really loved the angle.
The storyline between Mickie James and Trish Stratus would continue for months after WrestleMania 22. It concluded at a Raw episode in June when James picked up a victory over her arch-rival in a Women’s title match.