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Mickie James - Friend or Foe?

Mickie James' recent debut on RAW caught many wrestling fans by surprise. Those not already acquainted with her, were largely unsure as to whom this mysterious and pretty woman was that attacked Victoria and seemed to ally herself with Trish. But even those of us who had heard of her before her debut were surprised at the transformation that she seems to have undergone, both physically and in terms of her in-ring attitude. In this article I intend to look at Mickie's recent reinvention of herself and its possible implications for Trish and the division as a whole.

Height: Mickie stands at 5'4" which makes her one of the smallest Divas on the RAW roster, as well as the same height as Trish. Her feisty attack on Victoria recently however showed that Mickie is used to facing physically bigger opponents and does not allow this fact to phase her.

Weight: At her last recorded weigh-in Mickie tipped the scale at 125 lbs making her 5 lbs lighter than Trish. However this was at a time when Mickie was thinner and more petite in stature. Since then she has definitely filled out noticeably and is likely to be heavier than Trish now, and perhaps more equal to Victoria in weight. The significance of all this? The ease with which she should theoretically be able to shove her opponents around the ring.

As mentioned before, Mickie has been used to taking on larger opponents and must by now be more than aware of the advantage that momentum can give you. That's why her attack on Victoria seemed more vicious and frenzied than has been seen from her in the past. With more weight behind her, her attacks are more powerful, and she is more of a force to be reckoned with.

It is also possible that this weight gain has accounted for the noticeable increase in her chest size of late. In the past Mickie has been comparatively flat-chested, but as we all saw on RAW, she was displaying assets to make Trish jealous. The other perhaps obvious alternative is that she has recently had a boob job. This seems unlikely however as it would appear that she has not taken any of the expected time off wrestling, needed to recover after having undergone such an operation. What makes this suggestion even more unlikely is dealt with in the next section.

Physique: Not only has Mickie appeared to have become fuller in a general sense, she also appears to have acquired a lot of new muscle from somewhere. Whilst out on the indy circuit Mickie had almost always had a slight figure and carried very little noticeable muscle. But now, on RAW, Mickie is very definitely carrying some muscle particularly in her biceps. Although a gain in weight can help create the illusion of a gain in muscle, it is hard to explain how well toned Mickie's arms are, if they have become larger simply because she has gotten bigger.

Unusually this may suggest that Mickie has hit the gym hard in anticipation of her WWE call-up, putting on muscle, when women such as Victoria have deliberately lost muscle when about to debut with the WWE. The general reason for this has been the desire to not be branded another Chyna, or to scare off viewers who do not find overly muscular women attractive. Mickie however has been willing to take this risk, and it would seem that things have worked out in her favour. Not only does she appear to be physically strong, but she is also incredibly pretty.

This additional muscle will almost certainly come in useful with the likely fights that she will have with Victoria in the near future. It could also make her a very real threat to Trish. Such a feisty and strong newcomer could very easily upset the Women's champion in a title match.

Experience: Unlike some of the new Divas on the RAW roster such as Candice Michelle, Ashley and to a lesser extent Torrie Wilson, Mickie has a considerable degree of prior wrestling experience. She has been wrestling for a similar period of time to Trish (5 years or so) and is undoubtedly as good as her, if not better.

This experience means that we can expect to see Mickie jump straight into the thick of things, and hopefully we can avoid too many annoying segments pitting her against people such as Candice Michelle. Mickie can obviously wrestle, and it may be for this reason that Torrie and Candice were not ringside during Mickie's debut. If they had been, they would have become involved in the fight and there would have almost certainly been an altercation between them and Mickie. Mickie would have wiped the floor with them, but also in the heat of the moment, get carried away and hurt them.

Her experience should mean some top quality matches starting now, so long as she can avoid confrontations with the likes of Torrie and Candice.

Wrestling style: We've yet to see Mickie really wrestle, but what we have seen so far is also worlds away from how she used to wrestle on the indy circuit. Back on the independent promotions her style was best described as technical mat wrestling. Often in matches she would be slow to seize the initiative, thus allowing her opponent’s to get an early advantage. However, what we've seen so far of Mickie has been radically different.

Mickie has instead been up front and personal in her attacks, delivering punch after punch, and rounding it all off with a spinning kick. Although, given the circumstances it would have been difficult for her to execute proper wrestling moves, this was still evidence of a change in style and a new enthusiasm for wrestling within her.

Her small stature, compact physique and tenacious attitude are reminiscent of Jacqueline and we should expect her to pull off some equally impressive surprise victories in the face of considerable difficulties.

The future: With Trish back as a face, Victoria back as a heel, and Lita (the only other real wrestler on RAW) still heavily involved in a storyline with Edge, we should expect to see some surprises in the near future. Mickie has been introduced as an obsessed fan of Trish's. This angle seems very similar to the way in which Tori was brought into the WWF, as an obsessed fan of Sable's. We all know that those two women later fought each other, and there is every danger that Mickie and Trish will repeat history in this regard.

Trish is unlikely to become a heel again in the near future, thus suggesting that soon Mickie will shatter her allegiance with Trish in pursuit of the championship gold, or the WWE will introduce yet more female wrestlers to even the score.

However things pan out, hopefully Mickie will be around for some time yet, and we will see her involved in some classic matches. She has the potential to breathe a much needed dose of excitement back into the division, and with her spitfire nature there is every reason to suspect that she will give everything she's got. The question now is when will she abandon Trish in favour of having a shot at the title herself?