3: Mickie James’s stalker angle with Trish Stratus
Mickie James came to the WWE in 2005 from TNA, where she used to perform under the name Alexis Laree. Her first gimmick in the company involved a stalker angle with then WWE Women’s Champion, Trish Stratus. As an obsessed fan, Mickie’s relationship with Trish snowballed into one of the most iconic feuds in the Women’s division. Initially, a self-sacrificing subject who was not shy of adopting Trish’s mannerisms, Mickie ensured that the latter’s run as champion never dipped beyond a mark. On a backstage segment of the December 26, 2005 edition of Raw, Mickie ended up kissing Trish under a mistletoe sprig, throttling her storyline from a fan’s fascination to a lover’s obsession.
Mickie’s character then took a sinister turn as the feud progressed. A match between the two at New Year’s Revolution, 2005 was supposed to ease Trish’s strings but Mickie was not contented. When Trish spurned her enamoured declarations, Mickie turned violent. Her character transformed into a mania driven, delirious individual whose unreasonableness in dealing with other wrestlers often left the champion terrified.
Memorably, the two faced off at Wrestlemania XXII in one of Trish’s last matches with the company. Replete with sexual hints, the most brazen of these was an unscripted act of Mickie insinuating sexual overtures after having grabbed Trish’s groin. Mickie went on to win the match, deserving in her own right to be crowned the new WWE Women’s Champion and seeing the feud to its illustrious end.
