Mickie James was among the Superstars released by WWE last month, but when her possessions were sent to her in a trash bag, she took to social media to share how she was disrespected by fans. #TrashBagGate quickly started trending worldwide, and Head of Talent Relations Mark Carrano was fired after Triple H and Stephanie McMahon issued public apologies.
James has talked about receiving a phone call from WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, but detailed that in a recent interview on Oral Sessions With Renee Paquette.
"I talked to Vince [McMahon] personally, and I spoke to Johnny (John Laurinaitis) after," she recalled. "And I got messages and just texts from people. Everyone was super apologetic, and we got the flowers. That was nice. It was just nicer to have a conversation with Vince. He was like, ‘This is not what I think of you, and I respect you as a talent.’ For me, that was the conversation, I guess, I needed to have to say, ‘Okay, that’s cool.’ It’s cool."
Explaining why she chose to speak out, James made it clear that her intention isn't to bury WWE.
"It’s not like I’m out here going like, ‘Oh, F those guys or anything’ because it’s just not who I am. I would just rather be like, 'Okay,’ but it’s nice to bring awareness to it. It’s just more nice to say, ‘Hey, we can’t treat people like this. You can’t do that. That’s bulls**t, just have a little respect in that sense,’ and I don’t feel like it was an intentional disrespect, but it just more goes in line with how it goes sometimes."
Given what a PR nightmare this was for WWE - and Carrano's firing - it's hard to imagine this ever happening again, so James definitely helped change things in the business in a positive way.
As for her post-WWE future, that remains to be seen for now...