The Moment From Mickie James' WWE Career That 'Lives In Infamy'

Long before women's wrestling had taken a giant step forward in the United States, great, notable women's matches that lasted longer than a few minutes in WWE were hard to come by. As such, the ones that did wound up taking on an extra bit of significance, such as Lita and Trish Stratus' famous "Raw" main event match. Arguably even bigger than that match, however, was Stratus' match with Mickie James at WrestleMania 22.

The match, several months in the making, became the gold standard for WWE women's matches at the time, with James ultimately defeating Stratus to win the Women's Championship. The result, however, took a backseat to the match's quality and some of the more suggestive themes featured within the bout, playing off the storyline leading into the match where James obsessively stalked Stratus. This included a notorious spot where James grabbed Stratus in between her legs, and then licked her hand.

On "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," James revealed that the spot where she grabbed Stratus had always been planned, but the lick spot came from her. And her initial suggestion for the spot was tamer than what transpired.

"So I had asked if I could lick my finger," James said. "And he's [Steve Keirn's] like 'Well, lick your finger?' And I was like 'Well yeah. Wouldn't I? I've been trying to get my hands on her...for like, forever. This would be my dream come true, right? Can I?' And he was like 'Well, let me ask. We'll see.' So...I went away, and he comes back and he goes 'Yeah, okay. I think you can lick your finger. Whatever.' Sorry Steve Keirn...So that's not what I did."

James described the immediate moments after the spot, and the match, as an incredible high, and was expecting to return to the back and receive praise for the spot. This was especially important for James, who admitted she had been seeking a high five, thumbs up, or kudos from WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, something she had seen other women receive. But no sooner did she get backstage were her hopes dashed.

"I go back through the curtain, and Vince is pissed," James said. "Pissed. He's like 'That was crass! Do you know what we're going to have to do? How much money it's going to cost to edit and to pull it from every...we're a publicly traded company. What were you thinking?'"

James now wonders if McMahon secretly enjoyed what she did, given she wound up receiving no repercussions for it. At the time, though, James says she was immediately humbled by the moment, and did briefly fear it would affect her career negatively.

"Well, now I'm like 'Well now I'm the champion. Are they going to take the championship off me? How mad is he? Am I going to lose this tomorrow at 'Raw,' or...you know?'" James said. "And I didn't. I think...yeah. I was...I won't say I was devastated. I mean, I was a little bit, because I thought it was going to be awesome, and I thought it was a moment. And I was like 'Oh, this moment is going to live forever in WrestleMania history. It's going to be awesome, and it's going to be me and Trish.' It does, but in a different way. Yeah, [it lives] in infamy for sure."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription