Gail Kim On Her WWE Return Being Disappointing, Getting the Daniel Bryan Storyline As She Was About to Quit and Why She Left

Speaking with Jeffrey Harris for the 411 Wrestling Interviews Podcast, Gail Kim looked back on her WWE return in 2009 and why it was a disappointment, as well as her storyline with Daniel Bryan. Kim returned to WWE following a successful run in TNA that included her memorable and lauded feud with Awesome King that helped advance TNA’s Knockouts Division. She returned to WWE television in 2009 and languished a bit, competing in a few championship matches but never winning it, until in early 2011 she began a storyline as Bryan’s on-screen girlfriend which led into a feud with the Bella Twins.

Gail Kim recalled that she got the Bryan storyline right as she was considering leaving the company and shared her thoughts on how it went, as well as why despite viewing that run as a disappointment she’s not upset over it. You can check out the highlights and the full podcast below:

On if she felt her WWE return was a disappointment: “Uh yeah, you know if I’m gonna be completely honest. But when I went back, I did clear my path in terms of how I felt, and I really was optimistic. And at that time, I remember ’cause it was past the Diva Search and all that stuff, that kind had already long gone. And they were starting to have the women wrestle again. And so I felt very positive, and I was like, ‘Okay, I’m stronger. I’m wiser, I have more experience under my belt.’ And I had done the stuff with Awesome Kong, so it did build more confidence. And so when I went back, it was — it was disappointing, I will say. I’ll say that I never felt like I was used to my potential, you know. They had seen what I had done in TNA, and that’s why they hired me back. And so, I would think a logical thing would be to use you to your best ability, and what you know is great about that person, about the talents that that person had. But I never felt like that was happening.”

On her departure paving the way for her return to TNA: “And this is the way I look at it, because a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, you know, I don’t understand why WWE never used you in the proper way.’ Or on the other side of the coin, a lot of people are like, ‘Why are you so bitter about it?’ And for me, listen. I look back, and the way that I looked at it is that if they didn’t treat me that way, I would never have done all the things I did in TNA. I would never have — you know, then I went back to TNA/Impact, and I had my feud with Taryn Terrell. And if they didn’t treat me that way, then I wouldn’t have lost, right? [laughs] I wouldn’t have been able to make that match afterwards.

“And so, I’m grateful for every experience. I’m a true believer in, ‘Everything that happens in your life is meant to be,’ and it happens for a reason. It sounds very cliche, but I’m a true believer in that. And you may not know why until years later. And I’m just so satisfied and happy with my career, and you know there’s not many people that can say that they ended their career with some closure. And that’s why I’ll never step back into a ring in an official match because I know it’s a very rare thing to have, and I’m very grateful. And I don’t want the fans to remember me as anything but my best.”

On her initial reaction to the storyline with Daniel Bryan and the Bellas: “Well actually, I’ll tell you a little behind-the-scenes story with that. I was literally — I was on the house show loop that weekend, and I remember I was ready to quit. I was gonna go to Raw and I was gonna quit. I was just done, very done. And Brian Gewirtz, the head writer of Raw who, we got along … I knew a lot of storylines that he wrote just got nixed. And so he had called me with excitement, because he’s like, ‘Oh my god, we have a story for you finally.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God, the week that I was gonna quit he’s calling to tell me that he’s so excited that he’s got a storyline for me. So it was something I really wrestled with, I was just like ‘Ugh, what do I do,’ you know. And so he told me the storyline, and I just thought ‘Okay, I’ll give it a shot and see where it goes.'”

On how she felt about the storyline: “And you know, it was a good experience in terms of having a story and being more of a — not wrestler, but character I guess amongst the story. People remember it, I’ll say that. [laughs] That’s for sure. So that did prolong my time there, and I think we played that out. And it was basically like, I remember they were really happy with it. They loved the catfights and all those things, and we had like two more catfights after that backstage and in the ring. And then I got kind of replaced by Eve Torres in that storyline, and I remember just thinking, ‘Okay, why did that happen?’

“And then, you know I tried to talk it out with the office, just confused about my direction and why I wasn’t being used. And I really didn’t get any answers. So I was just really unhappy, and I really believe that in life, you’ve just got to be happy. And I never — at that point, money wasn’t important to me. I knew, I felt like literally I was ticking my time away, and I knew I had something to give to this business. And so I said, ‘I’ve gotta leave. I have to leave.'”

In the full interview, Kim discusses her Kayfabe project with Christy Hemme and Lita that you can support via Kickstarter here, winning the WWE Women’s Championship in her debut match, whether the TNA Knockouts paved the way for the Women’s evolution in WWE, ending her career on her own terms, her storyline with the Bella Twins and Daniel Bryan, whether she would accept a WWE Hall of Fame induction and much more.

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0:00: Introduction
0:56: On the premise of Kayfabe, the uniqueness of the project being wrestling told from a women’s perspective
3:14: On the stories being told and how it’s scripted with writers, whether the stories are coming from Kim, Hemme and Lita’s lives
5:00: On the production team for the show including Chavo Guerrero, Dave Sehadi and more
6:23: On Kim’s WWE Women’s Championship win in her debut for the company, her reaction and why she has mixed emotions about it
9:14: On whether what she and Awesome Kong did in TNA with the Knockouts paved the way for WWE’s Women’s evolution
12:47: On her return to WWE in 2009 and how it didn’t go the way she hoped, not feeling she was used to the best of her ability, being happy with her career
15:39: On her storyline with the Bellas and Daniel Bryan, her initial reaction to it and how she was about to quit before she got that storyline, why she ultimately left
18:34: On the ‘catfight’ era of women’s wrestling and how wrestling is moving away from that in a positive way
20:21: On ending her in-ring career on her own terms with the match she wanted to have, how certain she is that she’s done in the ring
22:05: On if she ever had any conversations with Vince McMahon and not getting feedback in WWE, how that led to her quitting
24:25: On if she would accept a WWE Hall of Fame induction
25:34: On dealing with high-stress emotional issue in the industry and how she handles that
27:18: On her favorite aspect of Kayfabe and working with Lita and Hemme
28:25: On if she’s ever been cooked anything by her husband Robert Irvine where she had to ‘grin and bear it’
29:04: On where to find her and where to contribute to the Kayfabe Kickstarter, how you can help out

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