AEW's Jeff Jarrett Recalls 'OG' Gail Kim's Continuous Push For TNA Women's Division

Before departing from TNA Wrestling last month, Gail Kim spent years working behind the scenes as a producer with a special focus on the Knockouts division, then the Head of Talent Relations. According to TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett, Kim's commitment to the women in TNA extends well beyond that, though, as she routinely pushed for more opportunities during her first run for the company in the mid-to-late 2000s.

"Right out of the gate, she was the OG," Jarrett said on "My World." "I know we had dancers on the [show], and people are gonna say 'No, she wasn't the original, we had a little bit [of women involved].' But with me and America's Most Wanted, she was like the first one and she really pushed. She really, really pushed for a women's division at that time. I gave the push back multiple times because I said 'Hey, if we're going to do it, we got to make sure we give the proper amount of time to it. We got to have a deep enough roster because when you have four or six, it's so hard. I think we need to get up to around eight [members to make up a proper women's division].'"

Initially, Kim came into TNA Wrestling as a manager for America's Most Wanted. After expressing a desire to wrestle in the company, Jarrett then granted her a feud against now-WWE Hall of Famer Jacqueline in 2007, which was considered a success. Due to this success, TNA finally expanded its roster of women and introduced the Knockouts Championship – a title Kim later claimed seven times.

Despite Jarrett's early push back, Kim has credited him for the birth of the Knockouts division, which later brought about her historic feud against Awesome Kong.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "My World" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.