Gail Kim On Which Former TNA Star Wants To Return To Wrestling, WWE Signing All Available Talent
Current producer for Impact Wrestling and former WWE star Gail Kim took on a media call this week. During the call, she revealed that Taryn Terrell wants to make a return to wrestling. Kim also went in depth on the demanding WWE schedule, the women she would like to sign to the Knockout's Division before they get "scooped up" by WWE, and whether she thinks the Knockouts Tag Team Titles would benefit the current Knockouts division.
Former Impact Knockout, Taryn Terrell last competed in a match on August 20, 2017 when she teamed with Sienna & Taya Valkyrie to defeat Kim, Allie, & Rosemary in a six-woman tag team match. It was announced that Terrell had departed from Impact Wrestling on October 20, 2017 but Kim revealed to Wrestling Inc.'s Nick Hausman that Terrell wants to make a return to the squared circle.
"She is not wrestling, she is doing stunt work but I know she wants to come back to wrestling," Kim stated. "She does miss it, just like everyone else that enters this business, I think. I always tell everyone wrestling is like the mafia, once you get in, you can't get out."
Kim has been scouting out talent to potentially join the Knockouts Division, however, she expressed how frustrated she is with WWE as they continue collecting talent and leaving the "slim pickings" for everyone else. Kim hopes to find the gems among what remains and add more talented international girls to the Knockouts Division.
"There's a couple of girls, I guess, but I almost don't want to say it because WWE signs everyone – is snatching up everyone, and making slim pickings for everyone," Kim explained. "I just heard that Viper just got signed. I don't know if that's a rumor or not, I don't know if it's been made in an announcement, but I loved Viper in the UK. There's a girl named Shotzi Blackheart here in the indies that we used once, but then she got injured straight after that. I see a lot of potential in her. There's a girl in Mexico, Keira, that I really like.
"Like I said, it seems like now everyone is kinda getting scooped up and I just want more of a pool to pick from," Kim continued. "If there are good girls internationally, let me know. I think all the Japanese girls are pretty much taken, it seems like."
With WWE's introduction of the Women's Tag Team Championships, Kim explained how there's been an influx of people asking for the return of the Knockouts Tag Team Championships. Kim sees potential for the Championships to return somewhere down the line but thinks they need to reinforce the division with plenty more Knockouts before Knockouts Tag Team Championships return.
"At the moment, the state of the Knockouts, I feel like they don't necessarily need the tag team titles right now because the story is interesting enough," Kim said. "But I have seen a lot more tweets about that since WWE has introduced the tag team titles to their women's division, but they do have a lot more girls than us, so i think that if we added some more girls, I think that could maybe be a discussion that could come up."
Kim saw quick success in WWE, winning her very first televised match, a seven-woman battle royal, on the June 30, 2003 episode of RAW to become the WWE Women's Champion. On August 5, 2011, Kim announced over Twitter that she had quit WWE but was forced to stay with the company until her contract officially expired on September 30 of the same year. Kim thinks that experiencing WWE is something that every wrestler should try once in their career, especially athletes starting out in the business, or those in the prime of their career who can handle the demanding expectations.
"Despite my experiences there, I always tell every wrestler, you need to experience it if you have not," Kim said. "You do have to give your life to them. They literally want you to eat, breath, sleep it, so I think it's great for people who are entering the business and maybe in the prime of their career. But I always try to remind people who have been there a long time that I still speak to, that sometimes, they forget there's a real world out there. Because you live in this bubble and you're constantly on the road, and when you come home you're so exhausted and you have to get your errands done in a day, and then you're back on the road, so it's very hard. I give it to them for sticking to that schedule."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.