What’s the story?
With Impact Wrestling currently in the midst of rebranding as Global Force Wrestling, the company’s plans have been dealt something of a blow with the news of an imminent retirement. Former WWE star and six-time TNA Knockouts Champion, Gail Kim, has announced that she’ll be retiring from in-ring competition at the end of the year. She made this announcement at the recently concluded Impact tapings.
In case you didn’t know…
It’s been a bit of rollercoaster ride for Kim in recent months. In June of last year, she was announced as the first-ever female inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame. However, the very next week after being inducted at Bound For Glory, she was forced to vacate her newly-won Knockouts Championship on account of a legitimate back injury.
In March, Kim then announced via Twitter that she was no longer under contract with Impact but did harbour hopes of returning at some point. That return did indeed arrive, and at this past week’s TV taping, though not quite in the way she might have hoped for.
The details
There is one possible silver lining to take away from this news, in that Kim didn’t actually say when exactly she’d be calling it a day. Instead, she’s simply earmarked ‘the end of the year’ as her loose retirement date, meaning her departure won’t necessarily be an immediate one.
Plus, she also noted that she wants to go out on top and end her career in a place she calls home, so it seems likely she’ll manage at least one more match before bowing out for good.
Also read: 5 current Impact Wrestling Superstars who could move to Impact Wrestling
What’s next?
Obviously, those words about wanting to ‘go out on top’ will fuel talk of some kind of retirement match or even one last title run. But unless she’s got enough left in the tank to put someone else over at the end of that run, the company may be better off keeping her away from the title. Either way, some kind of swansong looks more than likely. Beyond that, Kim’s been vocal in the past about working behind the scenes with Impact, so she may end up remaining with the company she calls home after all.
Author’s take
This isn’t particularly good news for Impact Wrestling. Not only was Kim a champion at the time of her injury setback, but she had also just been inducted into the company’s Hall of Fame. That makes her one of the brand’s top stars—male or female—of recent times. But from another perspective, it isn’t all doom and gloom. A potential retirement run could make for some good TV and draw in some extra eyes, while the prospect of her continuing to contribute backstage certainly bodes well for the future.
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