In an interview with Busted Open, Mickie James talked about her return to TNA and what the future holds for her in the business.
The former Knockouts Champion, who returned to the company at their No Surrender event, shared how it felt to be back in Nashville for the moment and the history she shared with Ash by Elegance:
It was good to be back. I mean, obviously, any time TNA is in Nashville — this is the birthplace of TNA. It’s also the birthplace of hardcore country — but, it’s 20, 30 minutes from my house so I was really excited to be back and see everybody. There’s so many familiar faces backstage but also a lot of new faces.
The Knockouts division has really grown since the last time I was there, and it was really, really cool to see. But obviously, I’ve been watching Ash (by Elegance) from afar and it’s much more personal than that and I think Tommy (Dreamer), you can attest to this because I remember a time when Ash was released where she was really — she came to me.
James last competed for TNA in 2023, while it was known as Impact Wrestling, and last stepped into a ring for a match in July 2025.
On her future in the business, the TNA Hall of Famer said:
I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching too. From everything, from doing the [WWE] L.F.G. and being in kind of that mentor space. Wrestling is one of those things, it’s in your blood and I’m so competitive and you just constantly go, ‘Well, what if? What if?’ I think that, for me, whatever opportunity that feels right and feels good in the space — I will always be involved in wrestling in some capacity because I just love it with my whole heart. I’ve dedicated over half my life to it at this point. I’m very, very passionate about it. So I don’t really know and I think that’s kind of a weird place for me and a scary place for me but it’s also helped me sit back and be kind of open to anything really that feels good and feels right and if it doesn’t — if it doesn’t feel good and feel right, that’s okay too.
It was cool to be back in the locker room and I was worried — not ‘worried,’ but you always wonder, ‘Oh, how are people gonna feel even behind the scenes?’ And that stuff and the locker room was awesome. The girls there were awesome. They were so great, and yeah, it was just good to be back in the mix for a second. Honestly, it was nice to just knock some dust off the old high heels.
Source: Fightful