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Beth Phoenix won a 13-woman Battle Royal on the August 1, 2011, episode of WWE RAW. In a recent interview, Gail Kim explained why she took the unusual step of eliminating herself from the match.
Early on in the contest, Kim threw Alicia Fox into the corner before rolling under the bottom rope. Women did not have to go over the top rope to be eliminated from a Battle Royal at the time. As a result, the former Women's Champion's participation in the bout ended almost immediately.
On Story Time with Dutch Mantell, Kim said the first five eliminated women were told to exit the match within two minutes due to time constraints. She also revealed that her decision to go off-script and eliminate herself hardly drew a reaction backstage.
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"Some people will say I acted unprofessional," Kim stated. "I only did that because I knew it was in the first front two minutes of the match, number one. I was like, 'They're not even gonna care. They're not gonna notice. They don't give a s**t if we're girls.' I was like, 'I'm getting out of here. I'm gonna roll out of the ring because they said we need to get out of the ring in the first two minutes.' And, to be honest, they didn't care." [38:26 – 38:48]
Former WWE writer buries Judgment Day HERE
Kim never wrestled for WWE again after that match. She returned to TNA and became a Hall of Famer and backstage producer with the promotion.
Gail Kim on the evolution of women's wrestling in WWE
In 2019, Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey in the first women's main event in WrestleMania history.
Gail Kim cited that moment as a big turning point in women's wrestling. She also highlighted how the presentation of female stars has changed drastically from the time of her Battle Royal elimination back in 2011.
"They didn't even notice," Kim continued. "I think one or two people noticed and they didn't even care, so that just shows what the state of the division was at at that time, and now it has changed for the better. They're main-eventing 'Manias. The women there are killing it. They're doing so well. This is all I ever, ever wanted." [38:48 – 39:08]
In the same interview, Kim recalled how Vince McMahon's alleged perception of her played a part in her WWE exit.
What do you make of how Gail Kim was booked in WWE? Hit the discuss button and let us know.
Please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
