Keeping it competitive: Gail Kim

The idea that women could be wrestlers had been challenged. Mae Young and The Fabulous Moolah did made the path easier for future women, that being said, most promotions in the 1980's didn't want talented female wrestlers. They wanted models to show off their bodies and promote their promotions. This wasn't just one promotion or a part of the world that was doing this. The industry had kinda taken a step backwards and didn't want to show off great female wrestling unless they we're skinny and made of mostly plastic. For most fans at the time, this was a none issue. In the WWF women were fought over, best example being Miss Elizabeth. No one thought this was a bad idea because she was meant to be the wife of Macho Man Randy Savage. The notion that this was a none issue would even go into the 1990's. WCW along with WWF would have female "wrestlers" in their promotion but never built a solid division around a Women's Championship. WCW would be the worst about bringing in new talent as they just trained the Nitro Girls and thought that would make a change. This however, would only make the situation worst up until the closer of WCW. Around this time, a very talented woman was training in Canada. She would be the spark that would challenge other women in the early 2000's to move from model to wrestler.

Gail Kim is the example of someone who was ten years ahead of the game. In 2000, Gail would go train in Toronto at the Ron Hutchison's school of pro wrestling. For two years she would wrestle in the Indy circuit and at one point was a masked wrestler called "The Queen of the Cats". She would lose to a future TNA wrestler Tracy Brooks and have her mask ripped of in a hair vs mask match. Her hard work on the Indy circuit would pay off when in 2002 the WWE would call her and within eight months she would be working OVW as a developmental talent. 

This next part is both my opinions and the facts and obviously we're starting with facts. Gail's first TV match and win was also when she first held the WWE Women's Championship. This would be held by her for four weeks until Molly Holly beat her for the belt. This would then start her heel turn and her next few years she would be her feuding with Molly Holly, Lita, and Trish Stratus. The final match of her first WWE run would be a lose at the Pay-Per-View Taboo Tuesday. She would lose a battle royal to Trish Stratus, and the following week she would be cut quote, "Due to cost cutting".

This is when my opinion comes in. She wasn't a Trish Stratus and I mean that in every way. She wasn't someone who would do weird story lines(see picture above). She wasn't a model, she didn't have blond hair and she wasn't the typical wrestler that the WWE would normally push. This just reminds me of Booker T and Triple H and their story line in the early 2000's or Brock Lesner and Kofi from a few weeks ago. The company gets a wild hair and changes things cause it fits them better. It also seems very odd cause when you put all this back to back you get a picture that is a little more white than black and white. Again, I say this knowing that not every champion has been white. However, she never won on Pay-Per-View which would have made her a huge draw for the company. Also its odd that they cut her for lack of funds, just doesn't seem very WWE. The history WWE has with people of color isn't great and I'd come off as mute of this wasn't apart of this article.

Okay, back to facts. 2005, TNA calls, this changes how the world sees Gail Kim. She becomes the manager of America's Most Wanted and Jeff Jarrett. This is a perfect fit for her as she is seen next to top guys in TNA which makes her a known heel on TV. In 2006, she makes her singles debut on the Pay-Per-View Victory Road in a 6-man mixed match. She would go on to lose this match but would get a chance at revenge at the next Pay-Per-View Hard Justice defeating Sirelda. Gail would have a small feud with James Storm and Jacqueline. This feud would end the following year after a lose to both in a mixed match that also involved Petey Williams. This would lead into a small feud with Robert Roode. This which hold her over until a battle royal would leave her outlasting nine other women. Because of this, Gail Kim would be the first TNA Women's Knockout Champion. This would lead her to being the top women's wrestler in TNA with feuds with Awesome Kong and ODB being the best opponents she fought. Gail Kim would lose to Awesome Kong in a street fight in 2008, leading her back to the WWE just three years after they let her go. 

Her second WWE run is remembered for one thing. She eliminated herself from a televised battle royal match. The information I read isn't to kind and if you took all her wins and losses she was way under .500. Her last act in the WWE wasn't something that was unwarranted. The creative process wasn't the same as TNA, she wasn't the top women in the company. Vince and friends knew she was the best but decided not to push her. No one knows why, but I think it had everything to do with her past run with WWE and the fact that she probably didn't want to play by WWE rules. She's not a model she is a seasoned wrestler. She could have been the head of the whole division but the WWE saw her as someone to put of Superstars. Her second and last run on WWE was over in 2011 and she said she vows never to sign with the company gain.

From 2013-2016, Gail Kim would be a huge part to the success of TNA. The issue is that a lot of the booking was really bad. Like most of the material I read wasn't that great and I'll be giving you a very quick read. In her three years back at TNA, she held both the TNA Woman's Knockout Championship and TNA Knockout Tag Team Championship at the same time becoming one of only two people to ever do this. Her first title reign back with TNA was a total of 210 days, the longest in the promotions history. She would go on to hold the TNA Knockout Championship another five times, one of those reigns lasting 88 days. This would bring her total count up to 7, making her easily the most decorated champion in the companies history. This would lead many to call for her to be put in the TNA Hall of Fame. She would be the first woman to be put in the TNA Hall of Fame.

Gail Kim was without a doubt a massive star outside of the WWE. Her dedication to her talent rubbed some the wrong way, but her career shows it was all worth it. She has become to many the reason the Women's revolution came to pass. Her failing in the WWE had been well documented and the company had to have wanted to move past the bad vibes. To me, she is a modern day blueprint for how all wrestlers should treat those who want to hold them back. No one company can make or break a persons career. Gail Kim is a prime example of what happens when you strive to be better. Her passion and love for the sport will always be what the fans remember and to most she's one of the best women's wrestlers of this generation.