Now Is The Time To Book Charlotte Flair Vs Mickie James
The forbidden door has flown off its hinges with the recent news of a WWE and IMPACT Wrestling crossover.
In the anticipation of the annual Royal Rumble event, WWE revealed some of the entrants in this years Women’s Royal Rumble match, including seven legends. Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool and Lita all make their exciting returns to the match on January 29th. In addition, Summer Rae returns to WWE for the first time since 2016. Most notably though, former WWE superstar and current IMPACT Knockouts World Champion, Mickie James, was amongst the announced entrants into the Royal Rumble.
Since her release from WWE last April, James has once again risen in the ranks of professional wrestling. Leading the charge in producing NWA’s first ever all-women’s pay-per-view Empowerrr, Mickie James has simultaneously catapulted her stock over the course of the last six months. After engaging in a high intensity feud with “The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo, James re-captured the Knockouts Championship at IMPACT’s Bound For Glory in October. This marked the beginning of James’ fourth Knockouts Championship reign.
Since then, she’s defeated the likes of Madison Rayne, Mercedes Martinez, and Kiera Hogan, and remains undefeated in singles competiton since August. Most recently, James rekindled her spark with rival Deonna Purrazzo in a heated Texas Death Match, in which Purrazzo invoked her rematch clause for the Knockouts Championship. Mickie James would go on to once again defeat “The Virtuosa” at IMPACT’s Hard To Kill event, guaranteeing herself to walk into the WWE Royal Rumble as the Knockouts World Champion.
The addition of Mickie James to the Royal Rumble has sparked intriguing conversations as to what James’ exact role will be in the match. With the shocking addition of Smackdown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair as well, the wrestling community, and Mickie James herself, have seemingly started the campaign for these two decorated champions to finally meet one-on-one.
During Mickie James’ second run in WWE (2016-2021), “The Queen” and herself nearly evaded any interaction in a ring together. The two fierce competitors found themselves on separate brands, until the Superstar Shakeup of 2019. There, Flair and James were both assigned to Smackdown. Charlotte would assume a feud with her WrestleMania rival Becky Lynch, reclaiming the Smackdown Women’s Championship at Money in the Bank. The same night, Flair fell victim to a successful Money in the Bank cash-in from Bayley.
Meanwhile, Mickie James was kept off screen. She would return to live events in late May of 2019, facing off against a former Smackdown Women’s Champion, Carmella. However, her return to a WWE ring would be short lived, as she sustained an ACL injury while on the live event tour. Surgery would then keep James out of action for over a year, before she made her eventual on-screen return in August of 2020.
James would begin a short series of matches against the likes of Natalya, Zelina Vega, and Asuka on Monday Night RAW before suffering from a broken nose, and disappearing from television. Mickie James would then reemerge in the 2021 Women’s Royal Rumble, which ended up being her last match in WWE.
Entering the fray at #19, James joined the match with the likes of Bianca Belair, Naomi, and…Charlotte Flair (who entered at #15).
After James knocked down her opponents, she stood tall to be met eye-to-eye by Charlotte Flair. “I’ve been waiting for this a long time, baby,” she exclaimed to Flair, before the two engaged in a series of strikes. Flair would contribute a series of chops before the two respected competitors moved to the corner turnbuckle. James would retort with a slap before landing a hurricanrana on “The Queen”, sending her flying across the ring. Flair would quickly bounce back, tossing James through the ropes and onto apron, attempting to eliminate the six-time women’s champion.
This moment would be the only moment that these superstars would ever engage in the ring together in any capacity. Mickie James wants more though.
In a recent interview with Tru Heel Heat, James revealed that she wants more magic with the current Smackdown Women’s Champion:
“I still would want a moment with Charlotte because I never got it, that’s number one. That will always be…I really wanted to have that moment with her. I don’t know why it matters so much, I’m just like ‘God, we finally got that little moment in the Rumble,’ a little beat, and it was pretty awesome. My whole tenure there, the whole time I was back, we were never in the ring together until that moment, which is so crazy to me.”
Similarly, Charlotte Flair also declared two years ago that she’d like a true match with the current Knockouts Champion:
Mickie James and Charlotte Flair barely scratched the surface last year, but now, there is hope for that true moment between the two decorated champions.
Since the announcement of James’ presence in the Royal Rumble and the surprising addition of Charlotte Flair, James has seemingly set her sights on the Smackdown Women’s Champion.
In an intriguing move by WWE, Charlotte Flair announced herself as an entrant in this year’s Royal Rumble. This will mark the first time in the history of the Women’s Royal Rumble that a champion will enter their respective Rumble match. No formal explanation has been given, but perhaps if Flair wins this year’s Royal Rumble, she will hand select her WrestleMania opponent?
It’s a definite possibility.
On the other hand, Mickie James enters the 2022 Royal Rumble as the IMPACT Knockouts World Champion. Moreover, WWE acknowledged James as the Knockouts Champion when announcing her entry into the Royal Rumble. Though James is a certified WWE legend, never before has World Wrestling Entertainment crossed over with IMPACT Wrestling in an exciting headline like this. As of this writing, Mickie James and Charlotte Flair enter the Royal Rumble match as the only two singles champions. Besides that fact though, there is one other link between the two legendary superstars that could and should cause that dream one-on-one matchup.
Though the Flair and James have never engaged in action outside of the Royal Rumble, there is a huge story and date that has the power to spark this potential forbidden door match: March 26th, 2019.
For thirteen years, WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus held the record the most women’s championship held by any competitors in WWE, with an outstanding seven reigns. In March of 2019, Charlotte Flair changed that. Defeating Asuka for the Smackdown Women’s Championship on an episode of Smackdown, Flair claimed her eighth women’s championship in the company. There, she cemented herself in WWE history with the most Women’s Championship reigns of all-time, now ahead of Stratus.
Upon her second return to WWE in 2016, Mickie James was one title shy of tying the record then held by Stratus. James found herself competing for various championships, including a six-pack challenge for the Smackdown Women’s Championship, an Elimination Chamber match for the RAW Women’s Championship, and against Alexa Bliss for the RAW Women’s Title on two occasions. In every opportunity however, James fell short.
James would meet Trish Stratus in the 2018 Royal Rumble, as Stratus taunted James by holding up seven fingers in her face, symbolic of her historic seven championship reigns. From 2010 until 2018, Mickie James was always second behind Stratus in the WWE history books. Every appearance of James on WWE programming following her sixth championship win, raised the stakes of her potentially tying history with Trish Stratus. Unfortunately, Mickie James never reclaimed a championship in WWE following her sixth Women’s Championship victory at the 2010 Royal Rumble.
James would forever trail Trish Stratus by one reign in the history books for the record, until 2019. Charlotte Flair would be the one to surpass Stratus on March 26th, 2019, becoming the Smackdown Women’s Champion and solidifying her eighth title reign in WWE.
Charlotte Flair reached a feat that Mickie James failed to do in her collective nine years in WWE. That realization is the fuel Mickie James needs to use upon her return to WWE. If James was never going to break Stratus’ record, perhaps a grudge match with the woman who did might provide her character some closure.
Flair has already beaten Trist Stratus’ record, and beaten Stratus herself at SummerSlam 2019. Then again, Mickie James has also beaten Trish Stratus, in her WrestleMania debut in 2006, ironically on the same day as this year’s WrestleMania: April 2nd.
Charlotte Flair will forever have a leg up on James in terms of the history books, but James might finally have a chance to change her fate this year. The addition of Charlotte Flair and Mickie James to the Royal Rumble could possibly lead to an ultimate forbidden door collision: Champion vs Champion.
Mickie wants it. Charlotte wants it. Now, it’s up to WWE and IMPACT to capitalize on the momentum and buzz.
Royal Rumble entry placements for Flair and James are still unknown at this time, but the drawing value is undoubtedly there. It is an absolute MUST that these two formally meet this year.
NOW is the time to book Mickie James versus Charlotte Flair.
