Day With A Diva: Mickie James

WWE Summerslam was this past Friday, July 11 at Rupp Arena. As with every event, we at the Rupp Arena Blog do our best to get as much behind the scenes coverage as we can available to you. On Friday though, I was able to ride along with WWE Diva Mickie James as she traveled around Lexington to meet up with fans.

I met up with Larry Hall (PR Consultant) and Mickie around lunchtime in the back of the arena. As I got into the limo (first time I had ever been in one) I was greeted by Mickie. We then set off towards Billy’s Bar-B-Q where we were to meet up with 98.1 The Bull and some winners of a contest The Bull held. On the way to the BBQ Mickie was kind enough to answer some questions for us to post up on the blog.

Rupp Arena Blog: Have you ever been to Kentucky before?

Mickie James: I actually lived in Kentucky for 3 years in Louisville.

RAB: What makes Kentucky unique from all the other places you have been?

MJ: I love Kentucky because it is definitely horse country and growing up on a horse farm, and having horses all my life, it has a since of home for me.

RAB: How did you get involved in professional wrestling?

MJ: I went to school for it, and trained for it. The school I went to was two and a half hours from my house. It was close to D.C. and I was close to Richmond, so I had to drive two and a half hours every Tuesday and Thursday to practice.

RAB: When you first started wrestling, who did you look up to the most?

MJ: When I grew up watching, one of my favorites was Macho Man Randy Savage. As far as the women in the industry, I obviously looked up to the Fabulous Moolah, Sensational Sherri, and Trish and Lita because they were the generation that were on TV at the time when I was trying to break in. I was working small independent shows and they were where I wanted to be, so I watched them a lot.

RAB: If you weren’t wrestling, what would you be doing?

MJ: I would probably be training horses. I guess you never know what your life holds for you. It is kind of fate how things fall into place. Who’s to say what I would be doing. I would hope that I would be horse training, or I always loved art in school so maybe doing art.

RAB: Does that mean you may settle back in Kentucky at some point?

MJ: I don’t know, I grew up in Virginia, and my family is in Virginia. The reason I moved to Louisville was because the OVW training farm was in Louisville, so I lived there for three years going to their WWE camp. When they told me I could move home after I started on TV then I went ahead and moved home. I definitely like Kentucky, it is pretty and a lot like Virginia, although Virginia has beach. I guess you never know though.

RAB: What do you think is the most overlooked aspect of professional wrestling?

MJ: I think people don’t realize how tough it is and the dedication it takes. You are on the road so often and away from your family so often. People think that is just a show, which it is a show, but it is tough. Not everybody can travel most of the week and be home for two days out of the week. It takes a toll on your body with the flights and driving, not to mention what we do in the ring.

Quick Facts

Where were you from originally?

Montpelier, Virginia

What is your favorite movie?

My Fair Lady

What is your favorite TV show?

The Tudors

What is the closest you have come to death?

A bunch of us were on a 4-wheeler, I was only 13 at the time, and there was plenty of room on our forty-seven-acre farm to get into trouble. One time there was a bunch of us all piled up on a big 4-wheeler and I was sitting on the front. My sister was driving and we were flying through the woods. All of the sudden I saw a bump in front of us so I said “Bump, bump, slow down!” It was too late though. I went flying through the air, face-planted in the field we were coming out into, and the 4-wheeler went over the top of me. I had a bruised stomach and had to drink out of a straw for a week. It was brutal.

What pets do you have?

I have three horses, ferrets, and a dog.

What is your favorite sports team?

Dallas Cowboys

What sports do you like to watch?

Football. I like going to baseball games, but can’t watch it on TV.

As the questions came to a close, we arrived at the BBQ and looked on as around 40 lucky winners were awaiting Mickie on the patio of the restaurant. As she sat down, the fans were gradually ushered up to meet her, get her signature, and snap a photo to show off to their friends later. I took quite a few photos at Billy’s of the winners and Mickie as they met each other. Everyone there was so excited to meet her and she seemed equally excited to meet them in return. It was a great experience and it seemed like everyone had a lot of fun. Plus, it was outside on the patio, so the nice day helped to provide a pleasant setting.

After the meet & greet was over, Mickie, Larry and myself headed inside to sink our teeth into the excellent BBQ we had been smelling the whole time we were outside. Unfortunately I have to admit that I had never eaten at Billy’s Bar-B-Q prior to Friday. It was never intentional, but I always sort of kept it in the back of my mind as ‘a place I should go sometime.’ I have definitely been missing out. The inside of the restaurant has such a warm and cultured feel, with signed posters and photos of famous blues stars coating the walls. Even better than the feel of the restaurant was the food that was made in it. I had a pork BBQ sandwich with fries and it was absolutely excellent and was a great memory to part with as we got back in the limo to head to our next destination.

With the taste of BBQed hog still fresh in our mouth, we headed toward a building which is home all sorts of different hogs, and by “hogs” I mean motorcycles. We arrived at the Harley Davidson Dealer on Bryant Rd. across from Hamburg on Man O’ War. I had seen it while driving down I-75 many times but hadn’t had a chance to check it out before. As soon as I stepped in the door I was impressed. The basement of the building is a full bike shop with mechanics working on some of the nicest motorcycles I have ever seen. The ground floor serves as a shop and show room and has sales people if you are in the market to purchase a Harley. The second floor houses the offices as well as a nice open area which looks over the ground floor.

They had a table set up in the open area upstairs for Mickie to sit down at and meet with the fans. Since this meet & greet was open to the public, fans showed up in force. There were around 300 people waiting outside to get a chance to meet the reigning WWE Women’s Champion and get her signature. Mickie greeted each fan and asked them if they were coming to the show and often talked to them about their favorite wrestlers or the matches that night.

All good things must come to an end though, and there was a match to prepare for. Mickie posed on one of their motorcycles for some final pictures and then we navigated our way back to the limo to head back to Rupp Arena. After we arrived I thanked Mickie and Larry and then went to begin a busy night of blogging duties for the show that night. I did get to watch the event though, which was my first WWE event I had ever been to. I know what you are thinking, “First limo ride, first time eating at Billy’s, first time in the Harley store, and first WWE show?” Let’s not dwell on how lackluster my life is and more on how amazing the day was. The show was a new experience for me and was very entertaining. I got to see Mickie go up against Beth Phoenix in the ring.

Needless to say, the day was amazing and the experiences were unique and eye-opening. Lots of thanks goes out to Mickie James, Larry Hall, the people at WWE, and the others that made this possible. If you are looking to check out some more photos from the day, browse through the Mickie James set below.