Mickie James returned to the ring on Raw, wrestling her first match since June 2019 following an ACL injury.
James' match against Natalya lasted roughly three minutes and the camera was more focused on the confrontation between Samoa Joe and Seth Rollins at ringside. James lost by count out after Lana distracted her and Natalya shoved her off the top rope and to the floor.
After the match, Mickie gave an in-character interview with WWE expressing her frustration.
"I feel awful, and not because I'm hurt, I feel better than ever. I've been off for a year and a half, off of television, I've been away, I've been home, rehabbing, working my butt off to get back, not just to get back, but to get better than ever. I come back with these goals and to reclaim who I am in this business and really build my legacy and the first person I run into is someone who I consider a sister, someone who I consider a locker room leader, a fellow veteran and someone that helped pass the torch and lead the future. She's completely been blinded by Lana and this obsession with social media and whatever else. It's blown my mind. I didn't expect to lose my first match back. I didn't expect to come back and have a fellow veteran acting like a 20-year-old. My niece is on TikTok, they are 13, come on. I don't know what to say. I'm so frustrated, honestly. Just have to go home, reset, and refocus," she said.
Taking to social media, her thoughts were a little less in-character.
I have so much to say about tonight @WWE but it seems I don’t need to! The @WWEUniverse is doing it for me... Ps.. congrats on this dub @NatbyNature also... Did you post that @tiktok_us yet @LanaWWE ---------- #MJ2020 #itfactor #wwe #WWERaw #mondaynightmilf #Respect #WelcomeBack https://t.co/hXfjyS6mO1
— Mickie James~Aldis (@MickieJames) August 18, 2020
Do I dare?! #Trending -- pic.twitter.com/iUv1S8p8KE
— Mickie James~Aldis (@MickieJames) August 18, 2020
She also RT'd the following tweets:
I, & the #WWEUniverse, DID NOT wait 1 YEAR to see @MickieJames back in action, just for it to be interrupted like this @WWE
— Akaash (@its_akaash) August 18, 2020
Women's evolution really worked that hard, FOR THIS type of equality??
Also, there's more than 4 women on the roster#ISAIDWHATISAID#MickieDeservesBetter pic.twitter.com/H5ksh0HcCD
WWE shouldn’t be afraid to present their female legends as well as they present their male legends.
— Wrestle Features (@WrestleFeatures) August 18, 2020
Mickie is a big deal.
Her presentation last night was absolutely shocking. pic.twitter.com/3Zhg1JRwXN
In an interview with Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture, Mickie further discussed her return and disappointment on how things went.
"It feels good to be back, I feel better than ever, from a personal standpoint I feel great I am excited to be back. I am excited about new opportunities, new matches. As far as my return I am a little bit disappointed, but you can’t win them all. You can’t knock it out of the park every time...The fan reaction has been amazing. I love them. I am so grateful, so grateful that my fans have always been loud and they've always been proud. I couldn't have said it better myself, so I let them do my work for me," she said.
If you missed anything from WWE Raw, check out Fightful's full report on the show by clicking here.
