TNA President Defends Controversial Gail Kim Firing
Why was Gail Kim fired by TNA?
On March 25th, it was announced that TNA Wrestling had fired several members of management, including Gail Kim. According to the company, Ariel Shnerner, Rob Kligman, and Michael Shewchenko were also given their marching orders.
The departure of Kim caught the entire industry by surprise, with fans and insiders alike expressing their shock and disappointment at the news. The legend is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in modern women’s wrestling, having played a key role in the creation of the Knockouts division, as well as pushing for equality across the board.
TNA Boss Explains Gail Kim Firing
During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, TNA boss Carlos Silva broke down why he and the company decided to part ways with Kim, despite her popularity among fans and within the company.
“Gail, TNA Hall of Famer, been there for years. When you come into an organization, you have to look at what’s working and what’s not working. Sometimes, you have to make changes because you have to move forward to continue to grow.
I had to make a couple of hard decisions, not just with Gail, but with a few other staff, to try and maybe reinvigorate what I think was already going well, but at least, from what I’ve learned in my career over the last 25 years; when things are going a little bit well, that’s not the time to sit and be happy. Everyone is chomping to try and get you.
We kind of got a little more aggressive in making changes we thought we needed to make to reinvigorate the locker room, maybe reinvigorate the Knockouts division, which I think we’ve done. Elevate a few people that needed to be elevated and give them more responsibility.
That was one of the changes we made. We made a few others in the front office as well. So far, everyone has responded well and we have a great team and some great camaraderie going right now.”
Silva went on to discuss the backlash from fans and even those within the company following Kim’s exit. It was reported in March that several members of the locker room were shocked and angry by the decision and made those feelings known.
“In knowing a little bit about wrestling and working with athletes throughout my career, there are always going to be people that are going to be upset. Gail had been there for a long time. Of course, it wasn’t an easy decision to make.
It was the most difficult decision I had to make so far in running TNA, but what’s important is what you do after that and how you bring people together and how we bring the locker room together and how we share what’s going on with our talent and help them to feel like they are part of the business.
We’ve done a pretty good job with that over the last three or four months and so far, the feedback I’ve been getting is that people like the way things feel now. They like the energy. I’m a big energy guy. I’m a big positive attitude person. I think it makes a difference. We’re trying to inject that into the organization.”
In June it was reported that Gail Kim had been backstage at multiple WWE tapings, sparking speculation she could re-join the company. The report added that WWE had been looking to keep Kim’s presence backstage in as quiet as possible.
Kim wrestled for WWE between 2002 and 2004, and again between 2008 and 2011. Her second departure made headlines as it came after the star eliminated herself from a battle royal on Raw before quitting the company altogether.
Elsewhere during his interview with Helwani, Carlos Silva claimed TNA is just weeks away from securing a new media rights deal which will see the promotion broadcast live all year round.
H/t to Fightful