Gail Kim is considered one of the greatest women wrestlers to ever lace up the boots in the Knockouts division. After two stints with WWE, she found a permanent home with IMPACT Wrestling in 2011 and has been there ever since.
While with IMPACT she has won the Knockouts Championship a record-setting seven times as well as being the very first woman to win the gold. She is also a former Knockouts Tag Team Champion, and in 2016 she was the first woman inducted into the TNA/IMPACT Wrestling Hall of Fame. Gail retired from in ring action in 2019 and has since transferred to a backstage role for IMPACT under a producer role.
Recently, Kim sat down for an interview with Denise Salcedo. Here is what she had to say about why she is fully invested in the Knockouts division, her future goals, and how she transitioned from an in ring competitor to a producer backstage. She has been working with the Knockouts division and has been showing up on screen more to interact with the roster.
Kim and Salcedo started the interview by speaking about her initial run in IMPACT and how Jeff Jarrett wanted her to help start a women’s division. Immediately she brought up none other than Awesome Kong. Gail revealed she didn’t really know much about Kong prior to the latter joining IMPACT but when they worked together they had so much chemistry while telling a David versus Goliath story.
Speaking of these fond memories made her emotional as she states her favorite opponent is Awesome Kong and still to this day gets asked about their feud when she attends meet and greets. Denise also asked Gail if she feels like the Knockouts get the credit they deserve for the things they contributed to women’s wrestling earlier on. Gail simply replied that the hardcore fans know and her peers acknowledge them as being the evolution before the mainstream revolution. Gail credits the division,how much its grown and the men who gave them opportunities even while she left and went back to WWE.
While speaking on her role as a producer, Kim says –
“It was a natural progression for me because, I would say in my last couple of years of being a talent, you become this veteran in the locker room. The girls really value your opinion. We always had producers and agents that guided us along the way. In the last couple years, the girls would ask the producer for their feedback and then they would ask me my feedback as well, so it just happened naturally. I love creativity in the ring. That’s where my heart is in terms of matches and putting together these interesting compelling matches, storylines and getting the fans’ emotions.”
Kim also happily revealed that she is part of talent relations with DLo Brown. She further adds why she is still so invested in the Knockouts division all these years later.
“I am just so invested because I’ve been part of this division from day one. Now I am like a proud mom. These girls are literally my heart, in a sense, because when they accomplish things and they kill it, I am having that high that I got as a talent for weeks on end. It’s a great feeling because it gives me that fulfillment that I don’t get anymore from being in the ring.”
Her future goal is to just continue what she is doing and continue to do more and more in her role and for women’s wrestling. Creating more opportunities and thinking outside the box more is what she hopes for.
“Just keep on climbing that ladder and create more opportunities for more people. Think outside the box more in terms of changing wrestling as a whole along with the team I work with. Create more opportunities for those people that have the same dreams as me. Give the the opportunity to create the success that I’ve been lucky to have. I have zero regrets whether I had ups or down in the business, I am so proud of everything I’ve done and what I continue to do and I just hope it flourishes in the future.”
Lastly, Gail was asked about the upcoming Queen of the Mountain match which will take place at the upcoming pay-per-view Slammiversary in Nashville, Tennessee.
“I look at that graphic and I get goosebumps. These girls are all so fierce, so competitive and so talented. I’ve already put pressure on them to steal the show (laughs), but I have no doubt that they can. I am just so looking forward to it.”
Check out the full interview below which starts by diving into Kim’s forever legendary rivalry with Awesome Kong.
