Latest news with #WWELegendsandFutureGreats
Fox News
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Mickie James reveals the 'last thing' a pro wrestler should want to be as she gears up for 'WWE LFG'
Mickie James is a legend when it comes to women's professional wrestling. She performed in the National Wrestling Alliance, Ring of Honor, Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling before breaking out with WWE in 2005. James had a lasting and memorable career with WWE, with her first stint ending in 2010 and her second stint ending in 2021. She was a five-time WWE women's champion and one-time WWE Divas champion. She was in TNA, Global Force Wrestling and a few other indie promotions in between runs with WWE. James' vast experience in professional wrestling made her the perfect choice as a coach in the upcoming television show "WWE Legends and Future Greats," also known as "WWE LFG." The reality show, which premieres on Sunday, will see James, The Undertaker, Booker T and Bubba Ray Dudley mentor the next generation of wrestling superstars. Viewers will get an inside look at what it takes to make it in the business. James told Fox News Digital in a recent interview it was quite difficult to determine what type of characteristics she looked for in a pro wrestler given a competitor's background and experience. "Each person you have to coach so differently depending on where they are in their wrestling journey," she explained. "I always say that I think what makes a superstar is the ability to tap into the thing that makes you unique, that stands out from the crowd, whether it be physically or emotionally or whatever, and making that larger than life. "In my opinion, as a talent, a lot of the times those things that, just through culture and our desire to fit in and be like everyone else and normal – that's the last thing you want in wrestling is to be like everyone else and normal. You want to be larger than life. Those things that make us and set us apart and make us so different are the things that we've pushed down and tapped down and kind of hidden and are insecure about. "And, I could just be speaking for myself, but I often find those are the things that you want to make larger, even bigger and go bigger with because those are the things that are going to set you apart from everybody else. The last thing you want is to be like anyone else in the arena." James said she was excited to be a coach on the show and to pull the curtain back on some of the WWE greats she will be working with. She added that she believed she had a unique experience because of her career trajectory. "I do think I relate most to these 'Future Greats' because I did go through the developmental system and then came up to television," she told Fox News Digital. "I can understand. I can relate a little bit more with them of what it feels like to be in their shoes. "It's been a lot of run to do. I feel like I'm constantly learning even still and it's cool to get to know these talent on a different level, on a real personal level and have fallen in love with all of them. But also to get to know all of my fellow coaches on a different level and hopefully earn a newfound respect from all of them. They certainly, I feel like, are my brothers now and I adore each and every one of them. So, yeah, it's been a lot of fun." "WWE Legends and Future Greats" is on A&E at 8 p.m. ET. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Fox News
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Pro wrestling legend Booker T sets expectations for next great superstar ahead of 'WWE LFG'
Legendary professional wrestler Booker T will be one of the four coaches tasked to find the next top competitor on the upcoming A&E series "WWE Legends and Future Greats." The show, also known as "WWE LFG," takes 16 budding professional wrestlers and lets them learn under the guided eyes of Booker T, Mickie James, Undertaker and Bubba Ray Dudley. While each coach has their own styles and backgrounds, Booker T has experience as a coach. Booker T is the founder of the independent promotion Reality of Wrestling (ROW), which became an independent wrestling school for WWE's latest developmental program, WWE ID. Much like his fellow coaches, he has been through the ups and downs that pro wrestling has to offer. He has been a world champion with WWE, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling, and he has been on the independent and international scenes. He explained to Fox News Digital in a recent interview what he is looking for in a pro wrestler. "How much heart they have, how much they really, really want it, and how far they're willing to go because with professional wrestling, I tell my students, it's not going to come to you," he said. "You got to go to it as far as the studying side of it. "Do you really want to be a professional wrestler or do you want to just play wrestling? It's so many different elements that goes into it. But I'm looking for the guy that wants it. It's hard to judge a book by its cover because you might see the one guy, he may have everything on the outside you're looking for, but it may have zero on the inside that you're looking for. On the other hand, it could be totally the opposite." Aside from being a prolific singles competitor with multiple world championship reigns, Booker T broke into WCW as a tag-team wrestler with his brother, Stevie Ray. The two were known as the Harlem Heat and took the tag-team scene by storm. The Harlem Heat were 10-time tag-team champions in WCW. Booker T also won tag titles with Rob Van Dam, Goldust and Test. He told Fox News Digital he was not looking for one person to have a certain specialty, rather a person who is ready for any type of challenge. "I'm looking for someone who can find themselves in situations, and no matter what the situation is, they know how to figure it out," he said. "A lot of these guys are dealing with this competition from just about every aspect we possibly can put them in – from a tag-team perspective, from a singles perspective, from a surprise perspective. "There's going to be so many different elements that we're going to put them through. They're going to, like I say, run the gambit as far as that goes. But I'm looking for someone who's prepared for those situations because, just like I've been talking to my students since day one, preparation is the only luck you're going to have in making it in this business." "WWE Legends and Future Greats" is on A&E at 8 p.m. ET starting Sunday. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
