TNA Knockout Gail Kim was recently interviewed by Peter Rosenberg. Kim opens up in one of the most detailed interviews she has done in quite a long time. Below is a quick recap:
On working stiff with other women: It's not stiff. it's snug and its very physical. I'm a very physical being. First off as a woman I think we are always being challenged. You know, I want to be as good as the guys. People make fun of me on the roster because they think i take it too seriously sometimes. I don't care. I do take it seriously. I want to have a great match. I want to steal the show. I want to show that we can be just as entertaining as the guys. People laugh sometimes but hey, I have had those [show stealing] moments and they are worth it.
Her most memorable match: Yeah, the stuff with Taryn...you know my stuff with Kong was so magical and memorable but the crowd response that Taryn and I got that night I mean, those are the moments that you fight for.
Leading a green Taryn through that match: No. I didn't necessarily need to lead her through that match when it was happening but I am the type of person that I like to take control of the match early in the day and how i want this match to go and set the tone for that match.
On Taryn being willing to go that hard in that match: Yes. She was totally up for it. To finally find someone to go at that level and be totally up for it. I just said to myself Yes! We were both so excited for that day and it exceeded our expectations.
On girls not so willing to wrestle or being a little intimidated by Kim: No. They just sort of make fun of me. They say things like, 'well now we really have to wrestle hard.' That's a compliment to me. I want them to step up.
On possibly returning to the WWE: When fans come up to me and ask me when am I going back to the WWE...well, I just put it this way. I was made more for TNA. The way that the women are treated, the time for the matches. That's what I enjoy. I'm so much more happy in TNA.
Any move she was not willing to take: Taryn and I had a ladder match in Las Vegas. So we had an idea of me giving Taryn a frankensteiner off the top of the ladder. So she would basically be straddled on the ladder. I was going to climb up the side of the ladder and give her the frankensteiner.
She never said no. She would have done it but when we got the ladder and started working, it was really shaky so we decided, you know what lets just be safe and we are doing so many other things so lets just scale this back.
On AJ Styles departure from TNA: I hope he comes back to us [TNA]. That's what I want. I would be really sad if he didn't come back. A lot of people have said to me 'Gail, he is gone' and I can't accept that right now. On Kong coming to the WWE: Here's the story on that. I was there as she was coming in. They knew we had worked together in TNA so they told me. 'Okay, you are going to be her first match'. Everyone knows that her first match is going to be a squash match. So she starts killing all of the girls in the ring. Then we have a house show loop and they tell me. 'Okay, you and Eve are going to get laid out'. I knew they were out to kill everything that we had done in TNA.
They kept pushing off that singles match on TV and finally they said 'okay, it's going to happen'. I remember she was there and then all of a sudden she went home. She came back for a pay per view, i think it was in Seattle and she set me aside and told me 'I have to tell you something, I'm pregnant'. I told her congratulations but a part of me was also happy that it was divine intervention to save our history. I sat back said, thank you Lord.
Whether she felt she was Beautiful enough to be in the WWE They made it known that I wasn't one of those beautiful people. They were very transparent about that. Like, when they would have a rehearsal for one of the Lumber-jill girls matches. They would position the girls exactly where the cameras would go. The girls that they felt weren't 'The Pretty Ones', they would move them to the side. It was a clear message.
On her role in the WWE: It was always confusing. Like at the house shows they would book girls for a wrestling match and one to host; Ask trivia questions and throw out T-Shirts. I did the hosting a lot and the guys would always ask me, Why aren't you wrestling?
on bailing out of a battle royale and quitting WWE: Some fans were like 'yeah, good for you!' others were like 'oh, she is so unprofessional!". I'm going to be honest. I don't regret it at all.
Here is what happened. I had already decided to quit already for a little while. I had planned to quit the day they started the thing with Daniel Bryan and the twins caught us making out and all of that stuff. I walked in to work that day and I talked to my husband, he wasn't my husband at the time but all of a sudden i go in and they have this storyline for me. so i decided to go with the flow.
The network apparently didn't like the storyline of twins fighting over Bryan so they had to make a change. They decided that he needed a secret girlfriend in order to break the story. I was the third choice. Bryan told me. He first pitched Sara Del Ray and Kong as his girlfriend. They went with me because I was already on the roster.
We did that story. That lasted about two months. At the end we did a great cat fight with the twins. We went hard and one of them grabbed me and threw me against a wall and i literally dented the wall. My head imprint was on the wall. They loved it so much that we did another two or three of these cat fights One on pay per view too.
Then I got phased out for no reason again. I went to Johnny Ace to ask him what was going on. I asked him, is it because I'm asian or something. I brought up just about everything. He said 'We love people of all ethnicity here. What else can we do for you? Do you want to train girls down at FCW?' I said no, i don't want to train girls at FCW right now.
A few months later it came to that day. I was so frustrated by that point. I was done. Maryse was supposed to eliminate me that night. She had some kind of knee injury and really couldn't do much. They just told me and Natty to 'just do whatever'. So i hit Alicia Fox and told her to sell. As soon as she sold, I rolled out. Because I know that my elimination meant nothing to the battle royale, I did that.
Jr said he sort of noticed and one or two agents noticed but nobody else noticed. When I got to the back, they didn't even care. When i told Jonny that I quit i told him, 'You guys don't even care about the women. I just rolled out of the battle royale and nobody noticed.'. He just laughed
When she will possibly retire: When my body doesn't hold up any more. I want to go out on top. I don't want to be like one of those 'gail is looking a little slow in the ring' But I'm 36 now and i feel I'm just as fast as any 25 year old. With Impact we go a little harder though.
Any match left she is possibly looking forward to: Everyone is waiting for the rubber match with Taryn. She is already talking about coming back. She has abs on top of her pregnant belly. She is like 6 months along now. Madison just had a baby and 10 weeks later she is back. She looks incredible.
Bully Ray Invites CM Punk For A Match In TNA, After He Reportedly Quits WWE
After it was reported that CM Punk was seriously quitting the WWE, Bully Ray took to his official twitter page to offer the former Champion a challenge. He said:
"If the rumors are true, let me be the 1st to invite @CMPunk to @IMPACTWRESTLING and get in the ring w/ me. Fans would LOVE it. Yes or no?"
Punk was reportedly livid when he learned officials scripted Batista to win the Royal Rumble, feeling he earned his right to be in the main event at WrestleMania. Punk, whose contract is up in July, made the decision to leave WWE after "Monday Night Raw." TMZ was told that right now, he's very serious about his decision and has no plans to return.
UPDATE: TNA President Dixie Carter has re-tweeted the offer by Bully Ray.
- It's worth noting that Triple H did not make an appearance in front of the rowdy crowd at last night's WWE NXT TV tapings at Full Sail University. Regarding the CM Punk chants that we reported on last night, one fan wrote to us and described it as one of the most disrespectful things they have ever seen from a wrestling crowd. Fans were chanting for Punk during other wrestler entrances and during their matches. Another fan said it had to be a nerve-wracking night for WWE officials because of the Punk fans.
- WWE has been working on concepts for Sting t-shirts pushing the theme of calling him "A Man Called Sting" since WCW trademarked the phrase and WWE owns the intellectual property rights to it. A memo came in to WWE's merchandise department last week to start working on the ideas for Sting.
Regarding Sting signing a deal, as of Monday the word is that he has not signed but is very close. Another source noted that internally, the idea of Sting coming in has not been talked about as a high priority issue compared to deals to get names like Hulk Hogan, Brock Lesnar, Batista or The Rock.
TMZ Reports New Details on Matt Hardy and Reby Sky
TMZ reports that Reby Sky is standing by her husband Matt Hardy and does not want to end their marriage following their arrest for assault and battery on each other at a Virginia hotel earlier this month.
The fight reportedly started when Reby asked an intoxicated Matt if he had been drinking or using other substances that night. Hardy's past with substance abuse and WWE-sponsored rehab is no secret. Matt didn't "take kindly" to Reby's accusation and the situation escalated into a fight.
For what it's worth, ESPN Cleveland reporter Casey Kulas reports that he heard from sources at Monday's RAW in Cleveland that there was a heated backstage exchange between WWE officials and CM Punk.
He wrote:
"My info on CM Punk: I do know from sources that at #Raw in CLE there was heated exchange backstage between Punk & staff. Topic - concussion."
"Punk was heard arguing with staff saying "I passed all your damn concussion test" and "I'm not going out and telling fans that BS""
- PWInsider reports that WWE sources indicate CM Punk quitting WWE had nothing to do with Batista personally and it wasn't Batista that caused the decision. It was more a collection of issues including being burnt out, injuries, a difference in what WWE saw as a big push for Punk and what he felt was one, specifically facing Triple H at WrestleMania XXX.
TMZ has picked up on reports of CM Punk walking out on the WWE. Here is an excerpt of what they reported:
WWE superstar CM Punk is QUITTING the organization, TMZ Sports has learned ... and sources tell us it's all because he's PISSED over the way the company wants to use him at "WrestleMania."
Sources close to the situation tell TMZ Sports ... Punk was livid when he learned officials scripted Batista to win the Royal Rumble ... because he feels Batista isn't in great wrestling shape and shouldn't be featured in the title match at the upcoming WrestleMania (the biggest event of the year).
We're told Punk feels he earned the right to be in the main event at WrestleMania -- because he's been wrestling tirelessly over the past year from house shows to overseas events. Punk was angry when he found out he'd be wrestling Triple H at WrestleMania instead of squaring off in the title match.
Sources say ... Punk -- whose contract is up in July -- made the decision to leave WWE after "Monday Night Raw" -- and we're told that right now, he's very serious about his decision and has no plans to return.
TMZ has released the 911 call that was made when Matt Hardy and wife Reby Sky were arrested at a motel in Virginia earlier this month after fighting with each other. You can download it at this link.
The hotel staffer told the operator, "A guest just came down here and said somebody's beating the hell out of his wife a girl or something."
It's worth noting that the two have been posting normal pictures of themselves on Twitter since this happened. Hardy stood up to a fan on Twitter last night who threatened to rape and murder Reby
TMZ reports that Matt Hardy and wife Reby Sky were arrested after fighting each other at a motel in Virgina earlier this month.
They were both arrested at the Hampton Inn in Emporia, VA on January 1st around 5:45 AM. They were booked for assault and battery and were released on $3,500 bail.
TMZ reports that both Matt and Sky got restraining orders against each other.
As noted, CM Punk has been removed from WWE events going forward after reportedly informing Vince McMahon at Monday's RAW that he was going home. Punk reportedly told Vince and other WWE officials this in a meeting before the show went on the air.
While Punk vs. Triple H was planned for WrestleMania XXX, word now is that Triple H will be facing Daniel Bryan in New Orleans this April.
While Punk is under contract through July, he is no longer factored into company plans. According to one source, the original script for Monday's RAW had Punk losing to Antonio Cesaro after Kane interfered, allowing Cesaro to qualify for the Elimination Chamber. Another source denies that and says Punk was never scheduled to wrestle Monday night and was only scheduled for an in-ring promo at Kane. Punk was not backstage during RAW and was not at SmackDown last night. It's believed that the late RAW re-write at 6pm on Monday was because Punk had just informed officials he was going home and wouldn't be back.
Punk leaving is being described as a situation where he's unhappy and burnt out with the overall direction of the company. There's also a feeling among wrestlers that Punk has saved his money and just doesn't need it any more, even the big WrestleMania payday that was coming up.
Following the Royal Rumble on Sunday, Punk's mood was described as "pissy" but that's not an unusual description of Punk's demeanor backstage. One source believed that since Punk's last goal was to work a WrestleMania main event, it may be a situation where he realized it wasn't going to happen this year and with his WWE deal expiring in July, that may have weighed down upon him because he was so goal driven and this was one he couldn't accomplish because of elements that were outside of his control.
Punk wrote the following on Twitter Monday:
"Thanks for all the support. Keep being you guys, it's pretty cool."
- WWE officials continue to negotiate with international star Prince Devitt. Word that he must make a decision very soon on whether or not he will accept the contract WWE has offered. Joining WWE would be a big step for Devitt as he would be giving up his spot in New Japan Pro Wrestling and moving to the United States from his home in Ireland.
CM Punk, who did not appear at Monday's Raw, also did not appear at Tuesday's SmackDown taping, despite being advertised for the event.
According to F4WOnline, Punk apparently told Vince McMahon at Monday's Raw that he was going home and left the show. Since then, Punk has been removed from almost all of WWE's upcoming live events, and television tapings from their events section of their website.
At this time it is not known if Punk is injured, or if something else is going on. The last tweet that he posted on Monday stated, "Thanks for all the support. Keep being you guys, it's pretty cool."
As noted earlier, Punk's contract is up in July, and he stated in an interview last week that he doesn't know if he will re-sign after it expires, and that "everything is up in the air."
Latest On Jeff Jarrett Possibly Launching His Own Promotion
PWInsider.com is reporting that whatever plans Jeff Jarrett has regarding a new potential promotion, they won't be hinted at or launched until after the Wrestlemania season dies down. Jarrett has been playing very coy with those who have asked, but has also been taking part in a number of meetings and researching talent. The belief is that country singer Toby Keith is involved with the project in some form, but whether that means he's the actual backer or is working with Jarrett to help him open doors to potential deals and backers, we can't say 100%.
Ik ben Boon Kenneth, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Sting.
Ik ben een man en woon in Dworp (Belgie) en mijn beroep is .
Ik ben geboren op 05/06/1989 en ben nu dus 34 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Worstelen en films.
Gastenboek
Druk op onderstaande knop om een berichtje achter te laten in mijn gastenboek
Prince Devitt, who is currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling, was backstage at TNA's show in Dublin today.
TNA Knockout Gail Kim was recently interviewed by Peter Rosenberg. Kim opens up in one of the most detailed interviews she has done in quite a long time. Below is a quick recap:
After it was reported that CM Punk was seriously quitting the WWE, Bully Ray took to his official twitter page to offer the former Champion a challenge. He said:
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