On the September 1 episode of IMPACT Wrestling, Mickie James announced that she is on her "last rodeo" and that she would retire should she lose again.
James had been teasing retirement on social media leading up to her promo, saying she wasn't sure what was left for her to accomplish in wrestling.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, James discussed her decision to have a "last rodeo."
"I really wanted to speak from my heart. It's been a journey for me. I feel I've been so fortunate to do so much and way more than, especially a woman gets to do. I just wanted to, not only be able to test myself because there is this whole rise of this new generation and some incredibly talented women out there. I just want to be able to go out in a blaze of glory. If I'm going to go out, I want to go out with a bang. It's a true way to test myself against every woman out there, and I'm open to every woman out there, to challenge them and really test myself to have some of the best matches of my life. Win or lose, no matter what, hopefully, the fans will win and my next loss will be my last loss, period. That's a good way to put my back up against the wall and force myself to bring the absolute best out of myself. I feel I'm better under pressure," she said.
Mickie continued by saying, "I did want to do it from the bottom of the roster up because I feel, especially if this is going to be the last rodeo, I'd like to give opportunities. A lot of times when you go in and you're going after things, you don't get a chance to challenge a lot of the women because you go into the angles or straight for the number contender opportunity. There are a lot of women in that locker room and a lot of women right now that I haven't had the chance to face and if this is going to be it, I'd like to have the chance to maybe face them. I have an immense amount of love and respect from that locker room, and a lot of locker rooms, we always want to leave it better than we found it and if I have the opportunity to share the ring with some of these ladies, to not only test myself against them but share the ring with them, it'd be cool for both sides and for wrestling."
James has already taped two matches for IMPACT as part of her "last rodeo" that will air in upcoming weeks on IMPACT Wrestling.
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