Subhojeet Mukherjee on October 28, 2025
Mickie James is finally breaking it all down—what really happened when WWE shipped her belongings in a trash bag after her 2021 release, and how it led to one of the most embarrassing internal shakeups in recent company history.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, the former WWE Women’s Champion said she wasn’t as upset as fans were when she first received the bag. In fact, she’d been through it before.
“I wasn’t as offended as the fans were when it happened, because I don’t think you realize how many times we’ve been offended,” she said. “I’m so numb to getting my feelings hurt, or I’m so used to, ‘Oh, you got to separate your ego from it, and don’t take it personal. It’s just business.’”
James said the now-infamous post was driven by sarcasm, and a way to spotlight just how disposable wrestlers can feel.
“So I posted, because I’m a sarcastic person, and if I was to be honest, I got two boxes with two trash bags. I still have the trash bags because I’m keeping them—receipts,” she said. “I remembered in 2010 when I got my stuff back and I got it the same way, and 2010 me was devastated… This time, I didn’t take it personally. I’m like, of course. It’s more about the lack of thought of how you’re so disposable…”
The post exploded online. Top WWE executives immediately reached out, including Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and John Laurinaitis.
“Then Hunter called me, Stephanie text me, Johnny called me. Everybody called me,” she recalled.
The fallout led to the firing of longtime Head of Talent Relations Mark Carrano—something James didn’t intend or celebrate.
“I still feel bad for Mark Carrano, who got fired for it, because Mark was always good to me… he’s the one who got fired. But it was just a testament to that was like a company thing of like, they just didn’t really think of how that would affect [you]…”
Then came the biggest surprise—Vince McMahon personally picked up the phone to apologize.
“Vince called me and I spoke to him on the phone… Because I was like, Vince has never called me before,” she said. “But he was genuine. He was like, ‘You know I’ve never thought that of you, and I’ve always thought highly of you, and I’m so sorry that happened and that person is not here anymore.’ And then I was like, Oh no. Felt bad for Mark Carrano.”
James said she doesn’t think the trash bag practice is used anymore and believes the incident woke WWE up to how careless it looked from the outside.
“I don’t think anybody else will get their stuff that way anymore… I don’t think they come in Gucci bags, but they certainly don’t come in hefty bags.”
Mickie James didn’t ask for drama—she simply showed fans what happens behind the curtain. And whether it was sarcasm or a silent protest, it sure got the industry’s attention.
Do you think WWE has really changed how it treats talent behind the scenes, or are gestures like this just PR fixes? Let us know in the comments below.
October 28, 2025 1:56 pm
Disqus Comments Loading...