As noted, Mickie James recently spoke with Sports Illustrated for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling.

In addition to the highlights we published from the interview already here on the website, the IMPACT Knockouts Champion also spoke about beating Deonna Purrazzo to win the title, the “Tag Me In” mental health movement and more.

Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On beating Deonna Purrazzo to win the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Title at Bound for Glory: “Deonna is one of the best in the world. I’m grateful to have the chance to wrestle with her again, which we hadn’t done since before WWE. She’s one of the best Knockouts champions in Impact history. And there are so many talented women in Impact, I can’t wait to work with them as champion.”

On being part of “Tag Me In,” which is trying to eliminate the stigma around conversations about mental health: “This is something that’s been needed for a while. We’ve lost a lot of people in the wrestling family for a lot of reasons, with suicide being one of them. I just lost my friend Shannon [“Daffney” Spruill], who was roommate in Louisville when I first got signed by WWE. We lost Ashley [Massaro, in 2019], and that hit me hard. My younger sister also passed away from ovarian cancer, which was terrible. We all have those dark moments when we feel like there is no one to talk to or that can help us, but there is always someone. That’s what helps make this initiative is so powerful.”

Check out the complete interview at SI.com.

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