Mickie James On How WWE Return Came About, Asuka, NXT TakeOver: Toronto

Mickie James recently spoke with WWE.com to promote her upcoming NXT Women’s Championship match against Asuka at this month’s NXT TakeOver: Toronto event.

Regarding how the opportunity came about for her to return to WWE for a title match against Asuka, Mickie told the official WWE website the following.

“I was sitting in the airport in Orlando, Florida, on my way to the UK, where I’ve been for almost a month now. I got the call from WWE and they asked me if I was interested. I know who Asuka is, I’ve seen her work in Japan and NXT. She is incredibly talented. It’s cool to see someone come up and make an impact. I think for her, it’s even harder, because there’s the language barrier. But she’s this mystical kind of person.

“For them to even consider me to come back and face her and, hopefully, tear the house down, is pretty awesome. It made me feel like a million bucks. I want to go in there and take it to the next level and give the people everything that they want and more.”

As far as the style match-up is concerned, the WWE website asked Mickie if she is nervous about facing Asuka considering all that she is capable of.

“Absolutely not! I’m a little crazy as it is, but I’ve been in the ring with some of the greatest Women’s Champions of all time — Trish Stratus, Lita, Beth Phoenix — they were amazing. I know that she hits hard, kicks hard and has killer submissions moves, but I can hit and kick hard and know some submissions. I haven’t been in this business for 17 years and not learned a thing or two.”

Finally, the former WWE Diva and TNA Knockout spoke about how she plans to prepare for her first title match / pay-per-view bout against Asuka at NXT TakeOver: Toronto.

“I’ve been training differently than I ever have before. I’ve been doing a lot of high endurance workouts, to get my wind and strength up, to get that immediate, quick and intense movement going. I feel like I need to be fast on my feet because she’s pretty quick. I’ve also been sharpening my mat skills and submissions, so I can have a few different ways to get out of her holds.

“I know she has that mental game going on. That doesn’t scare me — I’m the queen of mental games.”

NXT TakeOver: Toronto takes place from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario Canada on Saturday, November 19th.