Top IMPACT Star Feels Retiring Mickie James Will Be A Career Defining Moment

IMPACT Wrestling

A top IMPACT Wrestling star says they feel retiring Mickie James will be a career defining moment for them.

Following a series of losses, Mickie James returned to IMPACT Wrestling this past summer and started her “Last Rodeo”, stating that the next match she lost that she would retire.

Mickie stated that her ultimate goal was to work her way through the ranks to get another shot at the IMPACT Knockouts World Championship. James will now face Jordynne Grave for the title at IMPACT Hard To Kill on January 13 from Atlanta, Georgia.

At Hard To Kill 2022, James headlined the event against Deonna Purrazzo in a Texas Deathmatch ending their rivalry over the Knockouts Championship that started in 2021.

Speaking on Counted Out with Mike & Tyler, Purrazzo was asked what it would mean to defeat Mickie James and end her legendary career. Deonna answered:

“I think that would be career-defining. You know, Tasha Steelz says, ‘I’m the greatest to beat the greatest,’ right.”

“She beat Mickie James to win the Knockouts World Championship, but I think that’s been game-changing for Tasha, it kind of leveled her up a little bit.”

“The person who gets to say I retired Mickie James, I mean what bigger thing is there to do, besides win the Knockouts World Championship, which after Hard To Kill, you might have the opportunity to do.”

“But you’re gonna retire her? That in itself is an amazing feat. So I think it’s made our entire division work harder and level up, and ‘What more can I bring to the table? Because I want to be the one.'”

When asked about the impact working with Mickie James has on her, Deonna stated:

“I get asked this all the time just because Mickie’s so polarizing. She’s been wrestling 20-plus years. She’s done it all.”

“I think that having someone with that experience, and I was actually talking to her the other day and I said, ‘If you give someone advice, or if you said, “I’d like this better or what about this, and we tweak this,” how could I ever argue that you’re wrong?”

Discussing how it is to interact with Mickie and knowing how she’s done it all, Purrazzo said:

“The experience is there and is proof itself that it works. I can’t ever tell you, ‘No, you’re wrong’ because you’ve been there, you’ve done it, you’ve been successful, you’ve made money.”

“So having that kind of leader in the locker room I think has been game-changing, but I think everyone in our Knockouts Division, in our Knockouts locker room can learn something when they’re in the ring with Mickie, sitting in the back, just shooting the shit with Mickie.”

“We’re all gaining valuable professional and life experience from being around someone like Mickie James. So like I said, it’s been game-changing for me.”

Transcription via Fightful

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• Last Rodeo
• mickie james
• Deonna Purrazzo
• Impact Wrestling

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