Collarbone healed, Gail Kim makes her return
by Phil Speer
April 6, 2004
WWE fans on Monday got their first glimpse of Gail Kim since mid-November, when the former Women’s Champion broke her right collarbone.
Now recovered, the Toronto native made her big return during the women’s battle royal.
“Physically, I feel 100 percent,” she told WWE.com in a telephone interview. “I really took my time coming back because everyone has been through these injuries and a lot of the guys have actually broken their collarbone … Everyone told me, ‘Just take your time coming back. You don’t want to re-injure yourself.’”
It was the first injury that Kim has ever suffered. It happened on Nov. 17 in Beaumont, Texas, during a match against Trish Stratus.
Gail was medically cleared in mid-February, but she admitted that she still felt “twinges” in her collarbone at that time. The very next day, she reported to Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE’s developmental territory in Louisville, Ky., to work off any ring rust, but she says she was initially cautious.
The Korean beauty says she knows her body, and when she felt any pain, “I backed off. But I’m not going to lie. When I first did a few things in the ring, it was like, ‘Whoa.’”
She waited two full weeks before she went “full contact.” She realized she needed to strengthen her right shoulder area as she had been resting it for three months. “Getting back in the gym helped as well,” she said.
Today, she says, “I feel normal again. I feel where I was before I was injured.”
For the time being, she’s doing “double duty” – she’s back on the road with WWE, but is spending her off days in Louisville, continuing to train and get back into “ring shape.”
Gail’s return coupled with Nidia’s arrival on RAW creates arguably the strongest women’s division of all time.
“I definitely am excited about that,” she said. “I always believed Nidia should be on RAW because she has a very natural talent in the ring, and I mean personality wise and talent wise.”
Gail said she was nervous early in the day Monday as she thought about her comeback. The butterflies gradually went away throughout the day, but suddenly came back about 90 minutes before the match.
“I guess it was because I hadn’t been in front of the crowd in 4 1/2 months,” she said. “But it felt good stepping out there, and as soon as I stepped out there, I felt like I was in the moment.”
She added, “It was hard to watch the other girls while I was injured sitting at home, just watching them do what I love and wanting to be a part of it. I’m excited to be back, and I hope to get to the point where I compete for the Women’s Championship again.”
Credit: WWE.com
