Former WWE Superstar Mickie James returned to IMPACT Wrestling after a six-year absence during the company's Slammiversary pay-per-view on Saturday night.
It all went down at Skyway Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. James made her first IMPACT appearance since 2015 following the Knockouts title match between Deonna Purrazzo and NWA star Thunder Rosa, who was making her debut for the promotion after being revealed as Purrazzo's mystery challenger moments earlier.
Purrazzo had just defeated Rosa to retain her title when James made her way to the ring. The former Knockouts Champion confronted the current Knockouts Champion with a proposition. James told Purrazzo that she wanted her to participate in Empowerrr -- the upcoming all-female NWA pay-per-view which James herself is producing.
Sadly, Purrazzo wasn't interested in what the veteran had to say. "Grab your trash bag and get the hell out of here," Purrazzo told James, referencing the infamous trash bag incident which occurred shortly after James was released by WWE.
James had the last laugh, however, as she left the champ reeling with a kick in the head.
As you might recall, Mickie James was released by WWE back in April, allegedly due to budget cuts necessitated by the Covis-19 pandemic.
The relationship between Mickie James and IMPACT wrestling began way back in 2002 when the company was called TNA. She signed for WWE in 2003 but returned to IMPACT in 2010.
NWA EMPOWERRR is scheduled to go down on Saturday, August 28.
“We hope it’s the first of many,” James said of her all-female pay-per-view during a recent interview on The Wrestling Inc. Daily show. “I really want to make this something unique and special and a way to highlight the women in a different way you don’t necessarily see on modern television today. I think there’s a cool way to do that from a female perspective.”