Gail Kim DENIES Asking AEW For A Job (AEW News)

Gail Kim shoots down claims she asked AEW for an opportunity.

by Andrew Pollard
Gail Kim
TNA Wrestling

Having been accused of reaching out to AEW for an "opportunity", Gail Kim has moved to shoot down such claims.

Responding to reporter B.J. Bethal on X, Kim rubbished such talk, adding how the only contact she's had from anybody in AEW was a text message from Sonjay Dutt, which was Dutt reaching out to her to ask if she'd have interest in wrestling for the promotion. As the seven-time TNA Knockouts Champion and one-time WWE Women's Champion explained, she's retired from in-ring action, so that was never an option.

This comes after an eventful few days on social media for Gail, with her having various back-and-forths with certain AEW fans upset over remarks the TNA Hall of Famer made about Riho. Commentating on a match of Riho's she'd seen several years earlier, Kim said how, at that time, she felt "uncomfortable watching her because the camera shots would go up her skirt and she was always dressed like a very little girl and it felt improper."

In response to this, AEW EVP Kenny Omega took to X to suggest that Gail Kim's comments were done so that she could get in the good graces of TKO.

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Modern wrestling fans being modern wrestling fans, this has all led to certain sections of the AEW fanbase targetting Gail on X, to which she has regularly responded, as she reiterated her comments were merely her opinion at the time on one Riho match from several years ago. And now, Kim has had to respond to those claims that she'd contacted "several" people in AEW asking for a job.

A hugely influential wrestler who helped change the game for women's wrestling, Gail Kim formally announced her in-ring retirement in late 2017 after winning the TNA Knockouts Title for the seventh and final time at that year's Bound for Glory. She'd work a handful of indepdenent dates throughout the rest of the year and into early 2018, then would step back into the ring for a one-off match with Tessa Blanchard at TNA Rebellion 2019. The only other match Kim has had since then was an all-star ten-woman tag match in 2023 as part of iMPACT's 1000th episode. Following her retirement, Gail spent several years working as a producer for TNA, but was shockingly let go by the Anthem promotion this past March.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.