James described the immediate moments after the spot, and the match, as an incredible high, and was expecting to return to the back and receive praise for the spot. This was especially important for James, who admitted she had been seeking a high five, thumbs up, or kudos from WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, something she had seen other women receive. But no sooner did she get backstage were her hopes dashed.

“I go back through the curtain, and Vince is pissed,” James said. “Pissed. He’s like ‘That was crass! Do you know what we’re going to have to do? How much money it’s going to cost to edit and to pull it from every…we’re a publicly traded company. What were you thinking?'”

James now wonders if McMahon secretly enjoyed what she did, given she wound up receiving no repercussions for it. At the time, though, James says she was immediately humbled by the moment, and did briefly fear it would affect her career negatively.

“Well, now I’m like ‘Well now I’m the champion. Are they going to take the championship off me? How mad is he? Am I going to lose this tomorrow at ‘Raw,’ or…you know?'” James said. “And I didn’t. I think…yeah. I was…I won’t say I was devastated. I mean, I was a little bit, because I thought it was going to be awesome, and I thought it was a moment. And I was like ‘Oh, this moment is going to live forever in WrestleMania history. It’s going to be awesome, and it’s going to be me and Trish.’ It does, but in a different way. Yeah, [it lives] in infamy for sure.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription