Current TNA Knockouts champion Mickie James spoke very candidly about her role as the central figure in WWE's "Piggy James" storyline that played out on WWE TV four years ago in an exclusive interview on the May 10 PWTorch Livecast.

"I think there's a lot of mixed emotions about that whole angle," Mickie told PWTorch editor Wade Keller. "I don't know exactly where it came from. I know that Layla and Michelle (McCool) were doing that kind of 'Mean Girls' kind of thing. And I can tell you that working with the girls, they would come to me and say, 'I'm not really comfortable saying this or doing this.' And I would say, 'No, this is what we're going to do and this is what we're going to say. Let's do it and freakin' own it and steal the show with it.'"

Mickie said she sold herself on the angle because she felt like it was an opportunity to tackle the bullying issue head-on at the time. But, she acknowledged it was challenging to separate the character from herself at times.

"I feel like because bullying at that point had come to the forefront in schools and just society that it was a way for the company to attack it head-on and address it, both in a comedy way and also overcoming it," Mickie said. "I don't know where it came from, but, to me, it never really mattered. (pause) Obviously, it's hard not to let your emotions - I'm the type of person who has to feel every moment when you're out there - so it's hard not to let them get intertwined sometimes."

Mickie continued: "You're an actress and you're working and you're trying to do this thing, but sometimes - it wasn't the easiest task to do. I was not the most popular kid in school growing up. I played the violin, I was a nerd, I was very into my studies and my horses, I had a handful of friends in the small town I grew up in. So, I could very much relate - although it was more about weight issues - I could very much relate to the nitpitcking and getting picked on aspect of it."

Mickie also addressed whether the verbal jabs and content of the promos aimed at her character went too far at times.

"It did hit close to home," Mickie said. "But, I think Michelle and Layla owned those moments. Had they not been so great at being so nasty, I wouldn't have been able to really hone in and own those moments and go back in time to own those moments. It did get a lot of mixed reactions, but I think it also raised a lot of awareness for how ugly bullying and that side of society is.

"In all honesty, more the bullies who are insecure than the people actually getting bullied. It's actually the people doing the bullying who need the social acceptance, that need to put down others to bring them to their level of how they feel about themselves rather than try to pull people up. It was kind of a twisted way to do it, but I think it worked."

Mickie also addressed whether she felt like the content was a personal jab at her, not the character, based on her body shape.

"I would hope not," Mickie said. "Because that would be a very twisted and childish jab. I would hope that being at that level - I never took it at that way because in my mind it's a very upfront business about so many things - because it would be very high-school if it was. And if it was, then I was blind to it... I could be totally wrong and maybe that's me trying to see it through rose-colored glasses, but I'm okay with that. And, I would have not been able to do that story without Michelle and Layla owning it and the three of us working together."

Mickie added, "Obviously, when you're on television, it's your own psyche as well. You want to be in the best shape possible. I recognize right now that I was not in my best shape possible at that moment. I was feeling a little fluffy (laughs).

"But, also in that last year, I was home 20 days out of that entire year because I was working on my first album and on the road 250 days. I was literally home in my own home 20 days. So, it was a mixture of things - road weary, stress, emotional, just everything. There were many things I was dealing with at that moment. So, I wasn't probably the most confident that I had ever been in my life at that point because I had so much going on. And I had really over-done myself. I was burning the candle at both ends and in-between those points, too."

Asked if she still feels pressure to look a certain type being in the wrestling business, Mickie said, "Even right now at TNA, you're standing next to all of these gorgeous women who are in amazing shape, so it's a constant competition, so one extra inch feels like ten. And we are our own worst critics because it's such a cosmetic business."

Audio: We have excerpted audio of Mickie's 10-minute conversation discussing the angle. The audio can be downloaded here or by listening to the audio from the PWTorch YouTube Page below.



[ FYI: Mickie's new country music album, "Somebody's Gonna Pay," is available in retail stores and online through iTunes here - http://bit.ly/11CcHVX ]

[ FYI: Mickie's entire 80-minute Livecast interview is available exclusively at PWTorchLivecast.com by CLICKING HERE - http://bit.ly/11CcamY ]

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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