Matt Hardy calls Gail Kim’s TNA release ‘shocking’ and ‘very unexpected’
Matt Hardy is shocked that TNA Wrestling released Gail Kim.
Earlier this week, Kim was one of several executives let go by the company. Hardy addressed her departure on the latest episode of his podcast, saying Kim is someone who is “universally loved.”
“The Gail Kim departure was definitely shocking, very unexpected,” Hardy said on the show, also noting he was surprised to learn of Ariel Shnerner’s release.
“Huge shock. And even reading that news, it was hard to believe that it actually went down. Also, Ariel was a pretty big shock as well.”
Hardy said that Kim always fought for the Knockouts division in TNA Wrestling but isn’t sure what factored into the decision to let her go.
“Gail Kim’s someone who was, like, universally loved. The women felt blessed to have her. She was such an iconic, trailblazing women’s wrestler, right? And she was great with working with them and she really fought hard for the women’s division.”
“There’s some new ownership that just came in. So they’re reformatting, and it’s just above my pay grade, for sure. It’s just stuff that I am not really in the know about.”
Dave Meltzer addressed Kim’s departure in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
“Gail Kim, who had been a producer as well as working in talent relations since her retirement was another surprise in being let go to talent and fans,” Meltzer wrote. He included comments from a person with knowledge of the situation.
“Once they stopped having Gail produce matches or work in Talent Relations, the writing was on the wall,” we were told. “She was elevated to work alongside Carlos and head up `Special Projects.’ Being assigned to Special Projects is the corporate kiss of death.”
Kim released a statement regarding her release:
“This will not end my passion or my love for wrestling and this is not the end of Gail Kim in the wrestling world. You don’t put in 17 years in one company and stop when you are this passionate. I look forward to sharing my journey and am taking some time for myself and prepare for what’s ahead. Looking forward to the future”
Her full statement is available here.
The full episode of Matt Hardy’s podcast is available below:
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.