Former WWE & TNA Star Mickie James Reflects On Career Goals, Accomplishments
Save for a few independent dates, Mickie James has been largely out of a wrestling ring ever since she lost her match for the TNA Knockouts Championship against Trinity — now known as Naomi in WWE — in 2023. However, the former WWE and TNA champion is still active on social media and recently took to her online space to share some touching words with fans to kick off 2025.
In her post on X, James reminisced about her in-ring past, and her original goal of writing her name in the history books as one of the best wrestlers to run the ropes — "man and woman alike." Despite her 11 combined world title reigns, James reported a sense of dissatisfaction with her in-ring career, her commitment to hard work, and pure in-ring ability over backstage politicking, something she described as her "greatest strength and weakness."
Once upon a time my only goal was to go down in history at one of the greatest women's wrestler of all time. To make a change in the business for everyone. Man and woman alike. Although some may say I have done that, I still always find myself not quite good enough, worthy,...
— Mickie James~Aldis (@MickieJames) January 1, 2025
James called out the subjective world and claimed that external forces — namely, others' opinions — led to her current unmet goal of wrestling infamy. Her success was "at the mercy of someone else's decisions," and while James did not explicitly name the professional wrestling business or associated parties, it is not difficult to see how internal issues may have blocked James and similar wrestling talent from progressing in various promotions. Regardless, James claimed that time has made her both humbler and wiser, and that her new goal is to live authentically and in the moment.
"The beautiful thing is I only have one person to prove that to, [and] I think I'm doing ok," James concluded.
James implored her followers to make New Year's goals that served their own wants and needs, and not for "someone else's ever-changing opinion." Fans and friends alike, including WWE's Adam Pearce and Ring the Belle's DS, expressed their support under James' post.