In May 2005, Stratus was sidelined with the Women's Championship after suffering a herniated disc, with the storyline explanation that Viscera had injured her at Backlash after she insulted him for losing to Kane. This left the company without a Women's Champion for four months, as Stratus remained the champion during the time of her injury, thus ignoring the 30-day clause stating that a champion must defend their respective title at least once every 30 days. She returned to "Raw" on September 12, 2005 as a face by siding with Ashley Massaro against Vince's Devils (Candice Michelle, Victoria and Torrie Wilson). The feud also involved the debuting Mickie James, who introduced herself as Stratus' biggest fan. In November, during the "Eddie Guerrero Tribute Show", Stratus took part in an inter-promotional Divas battle royal that was won by SmackDown! Diva Melina. The next week, MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro) kidnapped Stratus for Melina, who challenged a tied up and tape gagged Stratus to a match for the Women's Championship. The two fought at Survivor Series, with Stratus defeating Melina. Stratus and Mickie James continued teaming together in late 2005, while James became increasingly obsessed with Stratus. On the December 26 episode of "Raw", the storyline between Stratus and James developed into a lesbian one, when James initiated an intimate kiss with Stratus under a sprig of mistletoe, causing a surprised Stratus to flee the locker room.