Nick Aldis Talks Mickie James' WWE Release And Trash Bag Debacle
In an interview with Spencer Love, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis was asked about the recent WWE release of his wife, Mickie James. As James has stated, Aldis told Love that the reaction to James' tweet that launched "Trashgate" took on a greater life than intended.
"You know, the craziest thing about all that for us was that she really, it wasn't like she was super offended," Aldis said. "It wasn't like she was really upset. She was kind of laughing at the symbolism. It wasn't like this thing where she went 'ah, I'm devastated, I'm heartbroken, how would they do this to me,' and I've seen some people sort of refer to it like that as if that was the sort of tone. If you go back and look at her post with the video and stuff, she was very tongue-in-cheek about it. She was very kind of, 'well, that's about fucking right!' In other words, they chew you up and spit you out, and that's just the way the business is. And, look. She's been through a hell of a lot worse.
"The reality is, is that symbolism and sort of tone-deaf gesture, I guess, is the best way to describe it, it's not even in the top-10 of the most cold, heartless things that have happened to her or me in this business. So, it's kind of like, 'hey, man, we've got thick skins.' She just thought it was enlightening, I guess, to sort of share with the world like, 'Hey, you think it's all special and glamorous? It's sometimes not so much.'
"I was very amazed at the level of traction it got. And, I was amazed at the level of response on the corporate level from those guys. From Triple H, and Stephanie [to] Vince, they all – and, hey, I will say that Vince McMahon went out of his way to express to Mickie his respect for her and her contributions. That's at least some consolation to take from it. Although, I would politely suggest that maybe a little more respect could have been shown to her while she was there."
According to Aldis, the response to the whole trashbag fiasco was instantaneous.
"Within minutes the phone was lighting up, both of our phones were lighting up. She, again, very tongue in cheek. Very – wrestling fans have a hard time with humor, you know, especially self-deprecating humor is like they want to turn everything into this big drama show.
"But, she sort of, again, kind of lightheartedly used the phrase 'golden handcuffs,' because – and I promise, this is not me trying to sort of polish a turd. Right away, my mind didn't go to like, 'oh, man, that's, you know, that's so devastating.'
"Obviously, I consoled her and said, like, 'how do you feel? Are you're okay? I'm sorry, babe.' But, right away, my mind started going to, 'well, hey, at least all of those massive contractual restrictions are off now. At least you have the freedom now to go after this, or to go after that, and talk to this person and promote this, and endorse that.'"
Aldis understands that things may not have worked out for James in WWE as they both hoped. But with her WWE tenure in the past, Aldis says he and James are looking towards the future and the positives it brings.
"There's a pro and a con to this," Aldis said. "Obviously, the con is yes, she's no longer with the WWE, and her last run didn't work out the way she'd hoped. And, that guaranteed income is no longer part of our revenue streams. But, we have plenty of revenue streams. The good news is, okay, now, the pro is that there are now a bunch of other potential revenue streams that were previously unavailable based on that contract. So, hey, it swings around about."