Former Women's Champion says she left WWE due to Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon was responsible for WWE Superstars' creative direction between 1982 and 2022. In a recent interview, Gail Kim spoke about the former WWE Chairman's apparent lack of interest in booking her on television.
Kim is viewed by many as one of the most talented wrestlers of her generation. The TNA Hall of Famer worked for WWE between 2002 and 2004 before returning to the company in 2008.
On Story Time with Dutch Mantell, the one-time WWE Women's Champion confirmed she left in 2011 because McMahon allegedly removed her from storylines:
"One of the writers had told me, 'I write stuff for you but it gets cut and taken out,' and to me once I heard that, I went, 'Okay, you answered the question without answering the question.' Only one person can change creative, and that's Vince McMahon. If Vince doesn't like me, what am I doing here?" Kim said. [35:49 – 36:08]
Kim's final WWE match occurred on the August 1, 2011, episode of RAW. After being informed of last-minute time constraints, she went off-script and purposely eliminated herself from a Battle Royal.
Gail Kim explains why Vince McMahon's opinion was important
As WWE's ultimate decision-maker, Vince McMahon was responsible for the storyline direction of every main roster member. Gail Kim won the Women's Championship in her first WWE run but struggled to receive television time during her second stint.
After hearing feedback from a writer, Kim knew McMahon was not going to give her more opportunities:
"I've already been here twice, for a total of five years. If he doesn't like me now, you know what? I'm in my mid-30s; I gotta get out of here. I gotta go and I gotta show everyone what I have to give for the fans, and so I quit, I left, and I went back to TNA." [36:08 – 36:27]
Kim faced Lita, Melina, Molly Holly, Trish Stratus, and several other high-profile names during her WWE career. However, she is arguably best known for her TNA feud with Awesome Kong, formerly known as Kharma in WWE.
Please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.