Home
[edit] Professional wrestling career
[edit] Early career
After a suggestion from a friend, James attended a professional wrestling school in the Washington, D.C. area.[17] She made her professional debut on the independent circuit in 1999 as a valet for KYDA Pro Wrestling under the ring name Alexis Laree, a name created as the result of a combination of her stage name from when she was a dancer and her middle name.[8][9][18] As Laree, she managed several male wrestlers, including managing Tommy Dreamer to win the KYDA Pro Heavyweight Championship.[11][19] In March, she wrestled in her first match, an intergender tag team match with Jake Damian against American Mike Brown and Candie.[11] She trained to improve her wrestling abilities by attending training camps such as the Funking Conservatory, a workshop run by Dory Funk, Jr., and an Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) dojo. She also started competing for Maryland Championship Wrestling, where she trained at camps run by Ricky Morton and Bobby Eaton.[8][11] Due to the low salary of the independent shows, James supplemented her income by working as a waitress at an Olive Garden restaurant,[6][8] and in May 2000 she posed nude for an issue of Leg Show magazine.[20]
[edit] Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
While working in Ring of Honor for a year, James also debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on the company's second ever weekly pay-per-view under her Alexis Laree gimmick as a participant in a lingerie battle royal.[10][21] She was not prominently featured until March 26, 2003, when she teamed with Amazing Red as part of his feud against Kid Kash—the X Division Champion—and Trinity.[8][22] Weeks later, she became the first member of the Gathering, a stable led by Raven in his feud against NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett.[8] On April 16, Laree became the first (and thus far, only) woman to compete in a Clockwork Orange House of Fun match after the Gathering challenged and defeated Jarrett.[11][23] She continued to wrestle with the stable when they feuded with the Disciples of The New Church, taking part in an angle with Father James Mitchell kayfabe burning her with a fireball and wrestling in another Clockwork Orange House of Fun match before leaving the company.[24][25][26]
[edit] Ohio Valley Wrestling
After two years of sending tapes and making phone calls, as well as wrestling a tryout match with Dawn Marie, James was signed to a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment, who sent her to train at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), their farm territory, in August.[5][6][8][11][18] Still using the Alexis Laree name, she began making television appearances for OVW on January 29, 2004 and competed in several tag team matches throughout the year.[27][28] She also won a Halloween Costume Contest on October 30 and defeated Jillian Hall in a $1,000 match on November 12.[5][29]
On May 17, 2005, Laree was placed into a tournament for the OVW Television Championship. She was booked to go over Mike Mondo in the first round, only to lose to Blaster Lashley in the next one.[27][30] She began a feud with Beth Phoenix on July 20 after Phoenix interrupted Laree during an interview, setting up a match on July 29 which Laree lost.[27][28] Their angle continued into September, with Shelly Martinez being added to the storyline to side with Phoenix against Laree. On October 12, she appeared in OVW under her real name and finished the year on the losing end of matches against Martinez and Jillian Hall.[27]
[edit] World Wrestling Entertainment
[edit] Debut; Trish Stratus's fan (2005–2006)
James at a Raw live event
James debuted in WWE on the October 10 2005 episode of Raw, continuing to use her real name, under the gimmick of WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus' biggest fan.[2][5][31][32] The angle had the two WWE Divas competing together in tag team matches, with James' character becoming increasingly obsessed with Stratus.[33][34][35] The storyline included a Halloween Costume Contest in which James was dressed like Stratus and helped Stratus retain the Women's Championship in a Fulfill Your Fantasy Battle Royal at Taboo Tuesday by eliminating herself and Victoria at the same time.[36][37] She even began utilizing Stratus' signature finishing moves as her own during matches. James became the number one contender for the Women's Title on December 12 by defeating Victoria in a match to determine who would face Stratus at New Year's Revolution.[38]
[edit] Early career
After a suggestion from a friend, James attended a professional wrestling school in the Washington, D.C. area.[17] She made her professional debut on the independent circuit in 1999 as a valet for KYDA Pro Wrestling under the ring name Alexis Laree, a name created as the result of a combination of her stage name from when she was a dancer and her middle name.[8][9][18] As Laree, she managed several male wrestlers, including managing Tommy Dreamer to win the KYDA Pro Heavyweight Championship.[11][19] In March, she wrestled in her first match, an intergender tag team match with Jake Damian against American Mike Brown and Candie.[11] She trained to improve her wrestling abilities by attending training camps such as the Funking Conservatory, a workshop run by Dory Funk, Jr., and an Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) dojo. She also started competing for Maryland Championship Wrestling, where she trained at camps run by Ricky Morton and Bobby Eaton.[8][11] Due to the low salary of the independent shows, James supplemented her income by working as a waitress at an Olive Garden restaurant,[6][8] and in May 2000 she posed nude for an issue of Leg Show magazine.[20]
[edit] Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
While working in Ring of Honor for a year, James also debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on the company's second ever weekly pay-per-view under her Alexis Laree gimmick as a participant in a lingerie battle royal.[10][21] She was not prominently featured until March 26, 2003, when she teamed with Amazing Red as part of his feud against Kid Kash—the X Division Champion—and Trinity.[8][22] Weeks later, she became the first member of the Gathering, a stable led by Raven in his feud against NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett.[8] On April 16, Laree became the first (and thus far, only) woman to compete in a Clockwork Orange House of Fun match after the Gathering challenged and defeated Jarrett.[11][23] She continued to wrestle with the stable when they feuded with the Disciples of The New Church, taking part in an angle with Father James Mitchell kayfabe burning her with a fireball and wrestling in another Clockwork Orange House of Fun match before leaving the company.[24][25][26]
[edit] Ohio Valley Wrestling
After two years of sending tapes and making phone calls, as well as wrestling a tryout match with Dawn Marie, James was signed to a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment, who sent her to train at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), their farm territory, in August.[5][6][8][11][18] Still using the Alexis Laree name, she began making television appearances for OVW on January 29, 2004 and competed in several tag team matches throughout the year.[27][28] She also won a Halloween Costume Contest on October 30 and defeated Jillian Hall in a $1,000 match on November 12.[5][29]
On May 17, 2005, Laree was placed into a tournament for the OVW Television Championship. She was booked to go over Mike Mondo in the first round, only to lose to Blaster Lashley in the next one.[27][30] She began a feud with Beth Phoenix on July 20 after Phoenix interrupted Laree during an interview, setting up a match on July 29 which Laree lost.[27][28] Their angle continued into September, with Shelly Martinez being added to the storyline to side with Phoenix against Laree. On October 12, she appeared in OVW under her real name and finished the year on the losing end of matches against Martinez and Jillian Hall.[27]
[edit] World Wrestling Entertainment
[edit] Debut; Trish Stratus's fan (2005–2006)
James at a Raw live event
James debuted in WWE on the October 10 2005 episode of Raw, continuing to use her real name, under the gimmick of WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus' biggest fan.[2][5][31][32] The angle had the two WWE Divas competing together in tag team matches, with James' character becoming increasingly obsessed with Stratus.[33][34][35] The storyline included a Halloween Costume Contest in which James was dressed like Stratus and helped Stratus retain the Women's Championship in a Fulfill Your Fantasy Battle Royal at Taboo Tuesday by eliminating herself and Victoria at the same time.[36][37] She even began utilizing Stratus' signature finishing moves as her own during matches. James became the number one contender for the Women's Title on December 12 by defeating Victoria in a match to determine who would face Stratus at New Year's Revolution.[38]
