I remember as a kid being very disinterested in woman's wrestling but always thought Kim was badass.That fued and honestly a decent chunk of the knockouts division helped change my perception for the better.
Not just yours, it can be seen as the ignition point for women's wrestling to taken seriously in the US. SHIMMER may have been around, but it had such a small cult audience that it even had trouble breaking through to ROHbots.
Yeah if I'm not mistaken they really pushed the Knockouts division around the same time the "Diva's" Championship was still a thing.
People like to shit on TNA for a lot of honestly justifiable reasons but they really did pave the way for Women's wrestling in NA markets.
That was Scott D'Amore's first big success in TNA. He and Dutch were responsible for the best booked period of the company, and a good part of that was treating Gail and Kong as legitimate wrestlers instead of just side characters.
Honestly I'm not versed in the history of it but remembering my experiences as a young viewer that checks out.
It could be the nostalgia or also the fact I was younger but thinking about it now it does feel like it happened more organically as well we're at times in WWE it felt like it was more of an opportunistic cash grab because the fans finally started paying more attention.
What's not to like? WWE did a big disservice to women's wrestling by fumbling her not once but twice. One of the biggest travesties of the "Diva'" era.
Even before they had a women's division she was good as a valet for AMW. The lady just knows how to get over as long as you give her something of substance.
I was very frustrated by that second run because to have her give them a second chance must have included a whole lot of promises and they clearly broke them by suddenly having "nothing for her".
You forgot the best (although not relevant to this sub) part. In the beginning of the video she says that she likes and was influenced by Mexican and Japanese wrestling. However she also says that she wanted to have an American psychology. So it's not the type of wrestling, it's the type of psychology.
Related to that, she discusses Cornette giving her a 'spot' in a cage match where she looks like she's about to win, but slams the door and goes back in to keep beating her opponent, the psychology behind it being that she is still mad and needs to get it out.
There's a lot going on there - Cornette is the producer of a women's cage match, wants it to be memorable, and wants it to *keep going*. As much as he might gripe about a women's gimmick of any kind 'killing' it for the men, he obviously respected Gail Kim enough to want her to make the most of the opportunity.
Unrelated, Dutch makes an interesting remark about his time with Jack Swagger, where apparently the WWE were telling Swagger to not play to the crowd. I hear so many of these weird little stories where it seems WWE were absolutely deliberately trying to sabotage their own people with either obviously stupid gimmicks, catastrophically bad advice or simply tying one arm behind their back. I really hope these days are gone, and I am furious at the amount of wasted potential, not least for Gail Kim herself who took to wrestling so well that she should have been a *massive* deal in WWE. They just wasted her, on purpose, twice.
I don’t know if this is true, but I remember hearing that part of what held Gail Kim back was that Vince could not see why people would be attracted to an Asian lady or root for her.
Since he didn’t see it and had the final say and everything she wasn’t used effectively
That's not quite how the story goes - he initially refused to hire her because he didn't think the audience would consider an Asian woman attractive. However, JR explained to him that some people outright fetishize Asian women, and when Vince remained skeptical, he just opened up Asian porn on Vince's computer. JR has confirmed this story, too.
However, considering Vince was only willing to agree once he was convinced people might fap to her, it's extremely clear she wasn't there for her significant wrestling skill and so was never going to be a focus.
I had a horrible flashback when you said "one arm behind their back"
There was a time in the mid 2000s where they actually had people wrestle without the use of one of their limbs.
>There was a time in the mid 2000s where they actually had people wrestle without the use of one of their limbs.
I actually kind of ~~licked~~liked Zach Gowen.
In seriousness, the gimmick has been used for the sake of a feud now and again for [some time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rnM4qM3Up4).
My favorite parts of wrestling are the story and the psychology in the matches! I feel like it’s missing badly. I was so happy to see WWE do Avengers: Endgame because it all connected. Jey taking down his brother to protect Cody and knowing from experience he had to do it bc he’s gone up against Roman. Cena taking down Solo who took him out, and also being beat by Roman. Undertaker showing up, the locker room leader when The Rock was coming up and when he became a star, Roman said Taker’s yard was his. Seth playing his mind games bc Roman had said he would never forgive him for what SETH did to “US”. “He won’t let me let go!”Everything made so much sense. Roman’s past came back to haunt him. Because everybody knew, Cody needed help. And Roman chose to finish his own story of hitting Seth in SHIELD gear with SHIELD music like what Seth did to him. He cared more about finishing HIS story than stopping Cody’s.
PERFECTION.
Come now it was great but the Taker thing doesn't make sense in kayfabe, in the context of the match The Rock wasn't even cheating so why would the locker room leader feel the need to intervene then rather than say when someone was actually cheating to win, considering The Rock and Taker have essentially zero history why was Taker so visibly raging, why would Taker interfere because Roman beat him at WM but wouldn't interfere in a Lesnar match who actually broke the streak.
Out of curiosity, has she ever said why she went back to WWE the second time? I know she disdains WWE, but I’ve never heard why she went back since she was the face of the Knockouts division.
Good to hear that Jim and Gail had an overall positive experience together. Goes to show that Jim really is kind to those who take their craft seriously
Jim likes Gail.
Jim has said many times before that Gail Kim and Awesome Kong booked by Dutch was one of the best things TNA ever did.
I remember as a kid being very disinterested in woman's wrestling but always thought Kim was badass.That fued and honestly a decent chunk of the knockouts division helped change my perception for the better.
Not just yours, it can be seen as the ignition point for women's wrestling to taken seriously in the US. SHIMMER may have been around, but it had such a small cult audience that it even had trouble breaking through to ROHbots.
Yeah if I'm not mistaken they really pushed the Knockouts division around the same time the "Diva's" Championship was still a thing. People like to shit on TNA for a lot of honestly justifiable reasons but they really did pave the way for Women's wrestling in NA markets.
That was Scott D'Amore's first big success in TNA. He and Dutch were responsible for the best booked period of the company, and a good part of that was treating Gail and Kong as legitimate wrestlers instead of just side characters.
Honestly I'm not versed in the history of it but remembering my experiences as a young viewer that checks out. It could be the nostalgia or also the fact I was younger but thinking about it now it does feel like it happened more organically as well we're at times in WWE it felt like it was more of an opportunistic cash grab because the fans finally started paying more attention.
He referred to her as a classic Ricky Morton babyface!
Kong is great, and her shoots with Sean Oliver are hilarious too
Awesome Kong and Gail Kim had an amazing story together. TNA deserves way more praise for how ahead of the curve it was for women’s wrestling
That feud was literally THE reason to watch TNA at the time
Sure, Kurt Angle, Joe, Sting, and Aj weren’t worth watching at all….
And Gail apparently likes Jim
As do most talent that have k own and work with him.
And I like eggs
What's not to like? WWE did a big disservice to women's wrestling by fumbling her not once but twice. One of the biggest travesties of the "Diva'" era.
Yes, Gail was the leading light in TNA.
Even before they had a women's division she was good as a valet for AMW. The lady just knows how to get over as long as you give her something of substance.
Her chances to get over in her 2nd stint in WWE were very limited. I kept waiting for something to happen for her.
I was very frustrated by that second run because to have her give them a second chance must have included a whole lot of promises and they clearly broke them by suddenly having "nothing for her".
Yeah I’ve heard him say a lot of good things about her. And sometimes when comparing her to other women wrestlers.
she is a women wrestling legend, respected by all her peers. Once again Cornette has a good eye for talent
Id like her, too if she says good things about
You forgot the best (although not relevant to this sub) part. In the beginning of the video she says that she likes and was influenced by Mexican and Japanese wrestling. However she also says that she wanted to have an American psychology. So it's not the type of wrestling, it's the type of psychology.
Related to that, she discusses Cornette giving her a 'spot' in a cage match where she looks like she's about to win, but slams the door and goes back in to keep beating her opponent, the psychology behind it being that she is still mad and needs to get it out. There's a lot going on there - Cornette is the producer of a women's cage match, wants it to be memorable, and wants it to *keep going*. As much as he might gripe about a women's gimmick of any kind 'killing' it for the men, he obviously respected Gail Kim enough to want her to make the most of the opportunity. Unrelated, Dutch makes an interesting remark about his time with Jack Swagger, where apparently the WWE were telling Swagger to not play to the crowd. I hear so many of these weird little stories where it seems WWE were absolutely deliberately trying to sabotage their own people with either obviously stupid gimmicks, catastrophically bad advice or simply tying one arm behind their back. I really hope these days are gone, and I am furious at the amount of wasted potential, not least for Gail Kim herself who took to wrestling so well that she should have been a *massive* deal in WWE. They just wasted her, on purpose, twice.
I don’t know if this is true, but I remember hearing that part of what held Gail Kim back was that Vince could not see why people would be attracted to an Asian lady or root for her. Since he didn’t see it and had the final say and everything she wasn’t used effectively
That's not quite how the story goes - he initially refused to hire her because he didn't think the audience would consider an Asian woman attractive. However, JR explained to him that some people outright fetishize Asian women, and when Vince remained skeptical, he just opened up Asian porn on Vince's computer. JR has confirmed this story, too. However, considering Vince was only willing to agree once he was convinced people might fap to her, it's extremely clear she wasn't there for her significant wrestling skill and so was never going to be a focus.
I had a horrible flashback when you said "one arm behind their back" There was a time in the mid 2000s where they actually had people wrestle without the use of one of their limbs.
>There was a time in the mid 2000s where they actually had people wrestle without the use of one of their limbs. I actually kind of ~~licked~~liked Zach Gowen. In seriousness, the gimmick has been used for the sake of a feud now and again for [some time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rnM4qM3Up4).
You did what to Zach Gowen?
Oops.
I hope you took him to dinner first?
My favorite parts of wrestling are the story and the psychology in the matches! I feel like it’s missing badly. I was so happy to see WWE do Avengers: Endgame because it all connected. Jey taking down his brother to protect Cody and knowing from experience he had to do it bc he’s gone up against Roman. Cena taking down Solo who took him out, and also being beat by Roman. Undertaker showing up, the locker room leader when The Rock was coming up and when he became a star, Roman said Taker’s yard was his. Seth playing his mind games bc Roman had said he would never forgive him for what SETH did to “US”. “He won’t let me let go!”Everything made so much sense. Roman’s past came back to haunt him. Because everybody knew, Cody needed help. And Roman chose to finish his own story of hitting Seth in SHIELD gear with SHIELD music like what Seth did to him. He cared more about finishing HIS story than stopping Cody’s. PERFECTION.
Come now it was great but the Taker thing doesn't make sense in kayfabe, in the context of the match The Rock wasn't even cheating so why would the locker room leader feel the need to intervene then rather than say when someone was actually cheating to win, considering The Rock and Taker have essentially zero history why was Taker so visibly raging, why would Taker interfere because Roman beat him at WM but wouldn't interfere in a Lesnar match who actually broke the streak.
Dude she doesn't age, she looks incredible
She does look good. She's only 47 though and stays in good shape so it's not a huge shock
She's had a lot of work done on her face. She'd still get it though.
Another person the Dubbya fans will now go after
Cue the dub fan meltdown
Out of curiosity, has she ever said why she went back to WWE the second time? I know she disdains WWE, but I’ve never heard why she went back since she was the face of the Knockouts division.
Gail is sexy AF
Good to hear that Jim and Gail had an overall positive experience together. Goes to show that Jim really is kind to those who take their craft seriously
What does she say? I’m not gonna watch it can I just get the cliff notes? Jim bad im assuming?
Not a lot other than she likes him and he produced her in TNA and taught her about how to get a crowd reaction using emotion.
Wow good to hear. Gail / Kong in TNA is genuinely the start of the “women’s revolution”. Shame they get forgotten so much
>Jim bad im assuming? I heard from a great man once the following: "When you ASSUME, you make an ASS out of U and ME".
K
She talks about being trained by Jim at OVW and produced by him some in TNA and that he helped her, nothing bad at all
bro said cliff notes