Mickie James talks about her future in wrestling

Former WWE Diva Mickie James was interviewed by Alez Marvez of Scrippsnews.com last week and spoke at length about her wrestling and country music careers. James has spent the last year and a half working on her debut country music CD, "Strangers and Angels." Here are some highlights of what Mickie James said about:

Her Country Music Career:"Wrestling has kind of taken a back seat right now,. This is a new passion of mine. I'm a very competitive person and very much a perfectionist. When I want something that badly, I'm willing to make sacrifices and do whatever it takes to make it happen."

Getting Released By WWE: "It broke my heart. I admit it," said James, who initially landed a WWE developmental contract in 2003 after spending four years on the independent circuit and in TNA Wrestling. "I had given so much of my life to this and sacrificed so much. I missed weddings, birthdays, my nieces being born. I starved on the road when I first tried to make it. I slept at rest stops because I didn't have the money for a hotel. I wanted it that bad.

"When you get that call that you're hired, it's the greatest call in the world. It's even better when you get the call that you're coming to TV (tapings) and debuting. But when you get the call saying you're gone ... What bothers me is, I could see if I didn't get a good reaction, but I would get the largest reaction of any female on the roster no matter who I was on the bill with. I still don't understand why, but that's life."

Her Future in Wrestling: "For a while, I was going to say I didn't want to wrestle at all because I'm still heartbroken (about WWE)," James said. "But I do love it so much. I intend to wrestle here and there and do the shows I really want to do, especially if it's with someone who's a friend of mine or someone I never got a chance to work with."