Mickie James Discusses Wrestling as Alexis Laree in WWE

Former WWE Superstar and recently inducted TNA Hall of Famer Mickie James recently spoke to Insight with Chris Van Vliet about opting to wrestle under real name in WWE, as her full name is Mickie Laree James. She previously debuted as Alexis Laree, and Laree is her middle name.

Eventually, her she opted to use her real name, Mickie James, in WWE. Below are some highlights from Insight:

Mickie James on originally debuting as Alexis Laree in WWE

“Even getting that opportunity to be able to use my real name, that’s a whole other story. And when I actually debuted in WWE, because I was Alexis Laree, I got to go there, and I did The Gathering. The Gathering was another whole thing that had to be a goth character. I had to look it up. I bought Hot Topic out of every fish net they had, every skirt, t-shirt. I was like, I’ll wet my hair. I guess I don’t know what goth is. It wasn’t my jam, but it worked.”

On wrestling under her real name in WWE

“I was Alexis Laree in OVW. I just love the name Alexis and Laree is my legit middle name, so that’s how that name came about. But I’m about to debut this crazy stalker character, and Vince is like, ‘What’s her name? Alexis Laree? I don’t like that name. It sounds like a stripper name.’ And I’m like, Oh, guess it does, doesn’t it? Yeah, okay. He’s like, ‘Well, got anything else? Got any other names?’ And I was like, ‘Uh, Mickie James?’ [He said] ‘I love it.’ I didn’t say, Oh, it’s my real name. I was like, oh, okay, great. So I was able, and probably one of the last few people, to actually be able to use their real name. I was able to use my real name. Wow, crazy. And how grateful I am for that.”

As previously noted, Mickie James was recently inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame as part of the all-women 2025 class. Former WWE Women’s Champion Lisa Marie Varon (aka Victoria) inducted her during the pre-show ceremony before Bound for Glory 2025.