Former Knockouts Champion Gail Kim joined WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross on this week’s Ross Report to discuss a variety of topics, ranging from her Food Network star husband Robert Irvine to WrestleMania 25.
Kim obviously wanted to be a part of the wrestling industry and Ross noted that the women’s locker room today may be filled with more women who didn’t initially want to be wrestlers. Kim touched on one model turned wrestler: Christy Hemme.
“She’s still in this business in a different form but she’s always had passion and always been respectful,” Kim said in the interview.
Like Hemme, Kim started in the WWE and switched to TNA. Kim talked about some of the differences between working for WWE and TNA.
“I feel like WWE, they want you to give your life to them. They want you to eat, sleep, drink everything wrestling and that’s fine for someone early in their lifetime,” Kim said. “I was always nurtured in TNA with my talent and they saw my talent and gave me that spotlight and that platform where as with WWE I felt like they wanted everyone to feel scared for their jobs.”
Jim Ross also addressed Gail Kim’s battles with Beth Phoenix.
“Beth’s just so good,” Kim said. “I completely trust her in the ring and she completely knows what she’s doing…I only wish we could have had an actually feud. We had one match on Superstars and we thought it was like a PPV match because we had seven minutes.”
Kim also talks the adjustment of switching from WWE to TNA’s style in the ring.
“For the first few months in TNA, I thought I was going to die in the ring,” Kim said. “I was so used to having these six girl three minute matches but now I was having up to sixteen minute matches.”
JR also addresses some of the controversy surround the WrestleMania 25 Diva Battle Royal which Santino Marella won.
“We didn’t really have time to go through 25 girls in the match,” Kim said. “I wasn’t supposed to get eliminated when I did. Victoria was standing on the apron and we had this thing planned. I hit her and eliminated myself early.”
Gail Kim also talks being a young Tito Santana fan, how Trish Stratus helped her break into the business, Undertaker‘s streak ending and more. You can hear the full interview on PodcastOne.com.
