Gail Kim Reveals Why She Decided To Retire From The Ring

IMPACT

Former WWE Women’s Champion and IMPACT Hall of Famer Gail Kim has explained her decision to retire from in-ring competition.

Kim signed with WWE in late 2002 before going on to win the WWE Women’s Championship in June 2003. She left the company in 2004, before making her debut for IMPACT (TNA) in 2005.

She returned to WWE for a second run in 2008, before heading back to IMPACT in 2011. Kim stepped away from the ring in 2017, returning for a one-off match with Tessa Blanchard in 2019, before transitioning into an IMPACT producer role.

Speaking on ‘Ad Free Shows’ Kim noted that she felt that she had nothing left to accomplish in the ring when she decided to hang up her boots.

Recalling the physical effects that wrestling had on her body, Kim said:

“I couldn’t walk after my matches like, legitimately couldn’t walk. I was using my luggage as almost like a walking stick to get myself from spot to spot.

“Once I felt like I slowing down in the ring, and maybe the fans couldn’t tell but I knew. That was the first part and then the second part was, ‘Well, what’s the next thing that I want to accomplish?’ And honestly, I had accomplished everything I wanted to … The icing on the cake was just the Hall of Fame.”

Kim was inducted into the IMPACT Hall of Fame in 2016. She recently teased ‘big plans‘ for the future of IMPACT Wrestling.

Check out results for IMPACT Slammiversary 2022 at this link.

Transcription via Wrestling Inc. 

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