Mickie James is one of the few wrestlers who managed to compete under her real name for much of her WWE career, a fact she is very grateful for. During her interview on Insight With Chris Van Vliet, James shared the story of how she narrowly avoided being saddled with a different ring name just before her main roster debut.
Before arriving in WWE, James wrestled under the name Alexis Laree, a name she created herself. “Even getting that opportunity to be able to use my real name, that’s a whole other story. And when I actually debuted in WWE, because I was Alexis Laree,” she began, before briefly mentioning her time in TNA with The Gathering stable.
Vince McMahon’s Reaction
When she was preparing to debut on WWE’s main roster as the obsessed fan of Trish Stratus, her ring name became a point of contention with Vince McMahon.
“I was Alexis Laree in OVW. I just love the name Alexis and Laree is my legit middle name, so that’s how that name came about,” James explained. “But I’m about to debut this crazy stalker character, and Vince is like, ‘What’s her name? Alexis Laree? I don’t like that name. It sounds like a stripper name.’ And I’m like, Oh, guess it does, doesn’t it? Yeah, okay.”
McMahon then asked for alternatives. “He’s like, ‘Well, got anything else? Got any other names?’ And I was like, ‘Uh, Mickie James?’ [He said] ‘I love it,'” she recalled. “I didn’t say, Oh, it’s my real name. I was like, oh, okay, great. So I was able, and probably one of the last few people, to actually be able to use their real name. I was able to use my real name. Wow, crazy. And how grateful I am for that.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Insight With Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. You can listen to the podcast on platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or watch the interview on Chris Van Vliet’s YouTube channel.
