Former WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James made her return to WWE [via NXT ] over the weekend, as she wrestled Asuka at NXT Takeover: Toronto .
James, who turned 37 back in August, has spent the better part of the last five years as one of the top women in TNA/Impact Wrestling. Now, she’s a free agent, and before this past Saturday’s NXT Takeover event, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that she’s looking to, once again, be a part of WWE, and that she was going to try to earn a spot on the roster by having a good match with Asuka. Well, she certainly had a good match with the NXT Women’s Champion, but now the question is, will WWE bring her in as a regular character?
WWE has been pushing the “women’s revolution” over the last year, and while the women’s division on Raw has lived up to the hype, the division on SmackDown is lacking depth, and it’s in desperate need of a believable challenger for Becky Lynch’s Women’s Championship.
You’ve crowned @WWEAsuka and @MickieJames the Stars of the Week! https://t.co/lst5yjvVQz #DivaDirtSOTW pic.twitter.com/EpsJivuOLt
— Diva Dirt (@divadirt) November 21, 2016
It’s pretty clear that WWE isn’t planning on bringing Asuka — who is arguably the most talented wrestler in the women’s division — up to the main roster anytime soon. But, as previously noted, the could be looking to bring in her Takeover opponent, and if they do, the SmackDown Women’s Champion says that she’d be willing to go one-on-one with her.
On Monday night, Becky Lynch was asked on Twitter if she’d be willing to get in the ring with Mickie James if WWE decided to bring her to SmackDown , and she answered with just one word, “absolutely!”
Absolutely! https://t.co/8gUESlEONm
— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) November 22, 2016
It’s looking like Becky Lynch’s next title defense will be against Alexa Bliss at next month’s WWE TLC show. But, the question is, where do they go after that? Will they bring in Mickie James? Well, if you ask Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter , he’ll tell you that they absolutely should.
While reviewing Saturday’s NXT Takeover show, Meltzer said that he believes that James’ performance earned herself a spot on the SmackDown roster.
“[Mickie James] is certainly good enough to be on the main roster, and it’s not like SmackDown couldn’t use another experienced woman, especially with Carmella and Alexa Bliss and everyone there. They could use another babyface that’s got a lot of experience. She’s a lot more experienced than all of them, except for Natalya.”
As Meltzer noted, James would easily be the most talented woman on the SmackDown roster, aside from Natalya. In fact, a James vs. Natalya program would probably be a good way to bring the former Women’s Champion back to the main roster. They’d have great matches if WWE gives them the time and creative freedom to do so, and a victory over Nattie could cement James as the next contender for Becky Lynch’s title.
Welcome Back, @MickieJames ! You Still Got It? You Never Lost It! #NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/2EzqLXVUw4
— ????? (@NXTFanNation) November 20, 2016
Sure, WWE could use James in a player/coach role in NXT , which is a role that she’d be perfect for. But, she does want another run on the main roster, so while she’d be a perfect fit for the aforementioned player/coach role, she probably wouldn’t be willing to do it before she gets another shot on either Raw or SmackDown .
Could James be brought in on tonight’s episode of SmackDown ? Sure. But, as of this writing, we haven’t heard that WWE is planning to bring her in as a regular anytime soon.
If WWE, for whatever reason, isn’t interested in having her be a regular character on either roster, she’d be a good candidate for the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame class, where she’d presumably be inducted by her most famous rival, Trish Stratus.
[Featured image by WWE]