Jeff Jarrett recently explained that Gail Kim, a future TNA Hall of Famer, was initially used as a valet in TNA not because of a lack of skill, but because the promotion was waiting to build a legitimate women’s division. Kim’s patience and athleticism, however, were crucial to the company’s early success on Spike TV.
Speaking on his My World With Jeff Jarrett podcast, Jarrett was discussing Kim’s appearance as a valet alongside his stable, Planet Jarrett. Kim had already wrestled in WWE before joining TNA in 2005.
Jarrett revealed that Kim was consistently pushing to be an in-ring competitor, but the timing was not right. “And she will tell you, we ought to have her. Because she will tell you at every TV can I wrestle? Can I get to wrestle? When are you bringing in more girls?” Jarrett recalled.
The delay was a strategic decision by the company to ensure the division was presented as a viable, substantial feature, rather than an afterthought. “I said, Gail, I don’t want to come on the air with the Division of four ladies. Let’s, let’s, let’s, let’s, let’s take our time and really figure out later. Obviously, it came to fruition,” Jarrett stated.
Kim’s inclusion, even as a non-wrestling participant, added value to the Planet Jarrett stable, which had heel heat with the audience. “But at this point, I thought Gail was a really great addition to the package of AEW. It really cranked up their heat in a lot of ways,” Jarrett said. He noted that her in-ring background enhanced the character’s presentation. “And with her athleticism and her Karina is off the top and different high spots, people knew, Okay, we’re dealing with a hell of an athlete right here, it really added to the package”.
Looking back, Jarrett reflected on Kim’s career as one of the great “what ifs” due to timing. “Yeah, it, I mean, it’s timing,” he noted. Despite the timing, he credits Kim and Awesome Kong as the original groundbreakers of modern women’s wrestling. “Gail Kim and Austin Kong, to me, were the original two main event. I’m not talking about territory days. I’m talking about modern day women’s wrestling. They really, in a lot of ways, were the groundbreakers that may have ended a cable network television show, and in so many ways,” Jarrett asserted.
