PWTorch.com, among other outlets, is reporting that Gail KIm has not yet signed with WWE and is negotiating to return to TNA.  The short of it is that Gail recieved an "insultingly" low offer to remain with TNA while WWE offered her a figure approximately three times TNA's deal.  They go on to say Gail never wanted to leave TNA but felt it would be foolish to turn down the far more lucrative WWE offer.  Which, apparently, she has not officially accepted in any legally binding way.  Supposedly now, Gail is waiting for a counter offer from TNA of a sufficient enough amount where she can justify remaining in that organization.

I gotta admit, I'm pretty disappointed by this turn of events.  Two weeks ago, I jumped the gun and sounded the trumpets about Gail Kim returning to WWE ("Knocked Out", text below).  I was pretty excited at the thought of Gail Kim back in a WWE ring. I like Gail Kim just fine in TNA, just as how I like their Knockouts division just fine.  But, if I'm gonna be honest and selfish, I want Gail Kim in WWE. 

Doesn't matter what I want though.  What matters is what Gail Kim wants.  She wants to stay in TNA.  I can understand that.  It's "home" to her.  She has numerous friends, supporters, and is a founder of their Knockouts division.  She is happy in TNA.

One can conjecture Gail doesn't want to deal with WWE's far more grueling touring schedule.  She doesn't want to start over with a roster full of women, save Victoria, she doesn't know and has never worked with.  She doesn't want to deal with WWE's internal politics.

Apparently, Gail Kim also doesn't want to perform on Monday Night RAW ever again. 

She doesn't want to be seen on the USA Network, the number one cable channel.

She doesn't want to appear on Smackdown, on network television.

She doesn't want to perform in Madison Square Garden again. 

She doesn't want to be paid what she's worth as a performer (as TNA does not pay the Knockouts equally to what the men in the company earn, which sparked this whole mess). 

She doesn't want a potential nomination into the WWE Hall of Fame years from now. 

She doesn't want to be a role model to the ever-growing female audience WWE now cultivates, spanning far more impressionable young girls who could use a hero like her than TNA's comparably tiny, misogynistic audience.

She doesn't want to ever perform  in front of 70,000 fans at a WrestleMania.

Now, I'm not in Gail's shoes, I'm just a fan, but to me, that's just crazy.  Gail Kim in WWE is win-win for everybody. 

Except Gail feels she would be happier remaining in TNA.  She should do what makes her happy, of course.  It would be a shame if she didn't.  But then again, it would be a shame if she didn't give WWE one more try.  Who knows?  She might be happy in WWE too.

I hope Gail makes the right decision.

August 21, 2008

Knocked Out

Gail Kim is coming back to WWE and I couldn't be happier. 

Gail is probably the biggest success story of any WWE performer who jumped to TNA.  She is a textbook example of someone WWE was not utilizing, got released, went somewhere else, and actually raised her profile and became a bigger star in TNA. Men like Kurt Angle, Booker T, the Dudleys and Christian Cage all jumped to TNA from WWE, but none of them surpassed the fame and level of achievement that they had in WWE. 

Gail is diferent.  She was brought in to TNA initially as a valet to Jeff Jarrett and AMW and was promised to be part of a Women's division for almost two years.  When the TNA Knockouts finally launched with the best available female talent TNA could sign, Gail was booked as the babyface centerpiece of their Knockouts and became the first Knockouts Champion, thereby also becoming the first and only woman to be both WWE Women's and TNA Knockouts Champion. 

More importantly, Gail had some of the finest TNA matches of 2007 with Awesome Kong.  The Gail vs. Kong series was wildly successful with fans and critics.  Gail was a primary reason why the TNA Knockouts became the highest rated segments on TNA Impact and gained a reputation as "legitimate" wrestling to the eyes of fans.  Now, Gail Kim is coming back to WWE at a time when her star has never been brighter or her reputation greater. 

Gail is coming back in as a big star, unlike during the latter days of her previous WWE run when she was second fiddle to Trish Stratus and Molly Holly when they were all heels.  Now, Trish, Molly, Lita, and all her former peers are all gone.  Except for Victoria, Gail has never wrestled any of  the current WWE Divas.

The Diva landscape is very different now than it was when Gail was released from WWE. There are two women's titles to challenge for now, although the smart money is on Gail coming to RAW.  Soon, we will thrill to Gail Kim vs. Beth Phoenix, which is no doubt on the horizon, with WWE looking for Gail to work the magic with Beth that she did with Kong.  I can't wait.  Down the line we will potentially have all-new, fresh Gail Kim matches with Natalya, Mickie, Melina, Katie Lea, Michelle, Jillian, Kelly Kelly to look forward to.  It all sounds pretty awesome to me.

Gail Kim in WWE is also a major shot in the arm for the WWE Divas, who have labored for a year under the stigma that they're still just T&A no-talents compared to the TNA Knockouts; which was always a slap in the face to the talents of Mickie James, Beth Phoenix, Melina, etc.  But now, the biggest babyface Knockout is WWE bound. Hopefully, Gail alongside Mickie James, Melina, Beth Phoenix, etc. will prove to all the doubters in the wrestling world that the WWE Divas, besides being hot, are also serious about rocking it in that ring.

Finally, it's business as usual to see people released from WWE and go to TNA but few jump back to the big show.  Even rarer to see a former Diva come back, better than she was before.  Gail Kim is a major acquisition for WWE, one of the biggest in recent memory.

WWE Diva Gail Kim.  Sounds great.  WWE Women's Champion Gail Kim will sound even better.

Welcome back home, Gail.