One of the most talked-about moments from Mickie James’ iconic WrestleMania 22 match against Trish Stratus involved a rather suggestive gesture. On Insight With Chris Van Vliet, James detailed the backstage story behind the infamous finger lick and Vince McMahon’s immediate reaction.
James explained that the spot was planned, stemming from her character’s obsession with Stratus throughout their storyline. She felt the gesture was a natural culmination of the angle.
“So I had asked Steve Keirn. Steve Keirn was our agent. I had asked Steve Keirn, ‘Can I lick my finger?’ Because we had already had the crotch grab spot. We’re gonna do it. So we knew we were going to do the vag grab,” James explained. “You think about the whole story… I have done many things, tried to kiss her numerous occasions, access denied. So we’re at WrestleMania, and I’m like, all the things that we’ve done to lead to this and they want this moment. I’m like, okay. I felt like that’s what anybody would have done in that moment, after all that.”
Misinterpreting Permission
James asked agent Steve Keirn if she could “lick my finger” after the grab, which he eventually approved, though perhaps misunderstanding the full extent of her plan.
“He was like, ‘Lick your finger?’ I was like, Well, yeah, I mean, I’m grabbing, wouldn’t I?… 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. So that’s not what I did,” James admitted.
Vince McMahon’s Reaction
Expecting praise for creating a memorable WrestleMania moment, James was instead met with anger from Vince McMahon backstage.
“I thought in my heart and in my soul, I honestly believed I was going to walk back through that curtain, and… I thought I was going to get the biggest hug of a lifetime, and fist bumps, maybe even a hoist on a shoulder… It’s not what happened at all,” she recalled. “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?’ So if you can imagine the high of a lifetime and then walking through and just shanked right through the curtain, I was like, Oh.”
Despite the immediate negative reaction, James noted, “But clearly he didn’t hate me too much, because I still was the champion, so maybe deep down he really loved it.”
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.
