Former WWE and TNA Knockouts Champion Gail Kim has found herself at the center of a fresh debate in the wrestling world following recent comments about AEW wrestler Riho and a subsequent online exchange with Kenny Omega.
Kim, who has long been outspoken about women’s wrestling and her desire to see female talent treated with respect, appeared on the “HUGE POP! with Donnie DaSilva and Jimmy Korderas” podcast this week. During the conversation, she revisited earlier remarks she had made regarding Riho’s on-screen presentation in AEW.
Kim clarified that her concern was never about Riho’s in-ring ability or career aspirations, but rather the way she was portrayed on television. She said,
“When I did watch Riho… and nothing against her at all because I am the biggest supporter of all women who want to make it in this business—I did feel uncomfortable watching her because the camera shots would go up her skirt, and she was always dressed like a very little girl. It felt improper.”
The former Knockouts Champion emphasized that she respects all women in the industry and wants them to succeed, but admitted that, as a viewer, she felt uneasy with some of the visual presentation choices around Riho’s character.
Her comments quickly gained traction online, and AEW EVP Kenny Omega — who has been closely associated with Riho throughout her career — appeared to take exception. Without directly naming Kim, Omega tweeted,
“Another day and another ‘legend’ doing the splits on it for the yearly TKO gift basket…”
Fans immediately connected Omega’s message to Kim’s remarks, sparking further discussion and tribalism between WWE and AEW supporters on social media.
Kim later fired back directly, addressing Omega’s post and clarifying her stance. She wrote, “If you’re trying to beat around the bush and misinterpret things like the rest of the yahoos, let me clarify that you are wrong. And if you’re not talking about me then I’ll apologize but with all the tribalistic crazies out yesterday misinterpreting things, I was yes, assuming so.”
On the podcast, Kim expanded further, calling Omega’s response “derogatory” and reiterating that her point was never meant as a personal attack on Riho, but a broader critique of how women are sometimes framed on wrestling television.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On feeling her comments about Riho got twisted: “I’m a little feisty, I’m a little fiery, so when people come at me, I have this need to defend myself… I did budge from my stance because… the view that the AEW fans or maybe the Riho fans had, a lot of them were very misunderstood and I felt like got very twisted inside and out and backwards and forwards and every which way you can imagine. So, I tried to explain myself… I was not, in any way, saying anything bad about her. I was talking about my discomfort in a segment that I had watched, probably when AEW started, because I don’t watch AEW currently. I’ve tried a few times. Wasn’t really my cup of tea. I do support, of course, a lot of the wrestlers over there because our world is very small, and yeah, I always support the wrestlers and what they do. I gave my answer from a question that was asked. I think it stemmed from a Jim Cornette question, who is also very controversial, and I guess people who didn’t like my opinion, and maybe read people’s twisted interpretations of what was said, took it the wrong way… The (Dave) Meltzers of the world and people telling me I need to apologize. It’s just ridiculous in my opinion just because I don’t think he fully understands the situation, and like I said, I would have been happy to have a conversation just like we’re having right now. I always feel like having conversations clears up things so much more, besides standing behind or sitting behind a keyboard where you’re anonymous, whereas we are all public figures and we have to take accountability for what we say and they really don’t.”
On why the Riho segment she commented on made her feel uncomfortable: “For me, I saw that one segment and I remember just feeling uncomfortable… Yes, she appeared to look very young, and then dressed, in that particular match, like a little girl, in my mind, and then when the cameraman — I think she was going up to the top rope — and I remember the cameraman shooting up her skirt, which, you know, happened a lot in my early wrestling days, where I had to go tell the cameraman or the production truck, ‘Hey! Stop shooting up my ass.’ So I felt uncomfortable and that kind of set the tone for the match. I’d honestly have to go look to see what match it was. It might have been Nyla (Rose), because it was very early on, and when I said she wasn’t believable in that match, it was just ‘cause I felt uncomfortable from the start, if you get my drift, in terms of — in this age of the child — you know, Jeffrey Epstein-era… I just felt really uncomfortable and then so, that’s what I meant by it and I actually had AEW — former people that worked there, say to me, ‘I agreed with you. I would be backstage and I felt the same way,’ and so, listen, not everyone’s gonna feel that way and by no means makes me think she’s current-day, not believable wrestler. I actually haven’t seen her wrestle again. Maybe clips online. But I can’t judge what type of wrestler I think she is today, and I’ve admittedly said that I haven’t watched their product in a really long time so, I’m happy to watch the product again and give my opinion on that, so, I would just hope that people have open minds…”
On belief that Kenny Omega was likely responding to AEW fans twisting her comments out of context: “Even what he said though, was very derogatory. Again, he was probably reading things online and believing the AEW fans who twisted all the messaging, in my opinion, I don’t know. Maybe he did read my original answer. But, to say I do the splits — I didn’t even know what that meant at first. I’m like, ‘What do you mean I do the splits for TKO?’ I’m like, ‘What is he talking about?’”
On promoters not wanting to pay her: “I’ve had promoters literally admit to me that they didn’t wanna pay me because they thought my husband was rich. When I met my husband, he wasn’t rich, okay? He worked his ass off to get where he is in his successes, to this day, and I’ll say, I used to resent it so much. Now, I’m so grateful and I’m like, you know what though? Because he is successful now, I’m not in a place where I can be pushed around or accept less than my value and all those things, so, it’s kind of a double-edged sword in a sense, but, it’s just mind-blowing.
“It’s either — I don’t know. I’ve heard every excuse in the book of why I shouldn’t get paid equally, and then hearing people actually admit because they think my husband does well. Guess what? My husband loves that I’m independent. That was one of the reasons why he fell in love with me, and it’s a constant fight. It’s always been a fight from the very beginning of my career, till the very end of, you know, when I just finished recently so, it’s pretty crazy.”
On whether it was just smaller promoters or major companies as well: “No comment… I won’t comment any further on that… It’s pretty wild, it’s pretty wild.”
(h/t – Fightful)
