While no one can deny Kenny Omega’s contributions to professional wrestling, his recent comments only added fuel to the ever-burning flames of tribalism, earning more headshakes than nods. Omega, best known for his success in Japan before arriving in the U.S. in 2019 as AEW launched, found himself in a spat with retired legend Gail Kim. The exchange raises the question: is tribalism fan-driven and amplified by wrestlers, or do the wrestlers themselves encourage the divide?
Photo Cred: Cleveland.com
Gail Kim, who spent nearly two decades in the ring before retiring in 2019 and transitioning into a producer role, has always been candid about what she does and doesn’t like in wrestling. Recently, she took aim at two things: her distaste for deathmatches and her discomfort with how AEW’s Riho was sexualized in a past match. Riho, Omega’s close friend and mentee, also happened to be the inaugural AEW Women’s Champion.
Kim’s criticism wasn’t a crusade. She didn’t condemn deathmatch wrestlers—she simply said the style wasn’t for her. But in today’s wrestling discourse, that was enough to unleash a mob. Fans stormed her mentions, armed with smartphones when they should have been armed with soap and water. Even Brett Lauderdale, founder of GCW, felt compelled to argue with her.
Kim isn’t alone in her dislike. Deathmatches are a niche inside an already niche industry. For many, watching two wrestlers in jeans bash each other with light tubes isn’t worth the price of admission. Yet judging by the outrage, you’d think Kim had insulted Old Glory itself.
Photo Cred: Pro Wrestling Stories
On Riho, Kim was equally clear. She didn’t disparage Riho as a performer or person; she took issue with the production that sexualized a younger wrestler. Still, an army of fans lined up to “defend” Riho, slinging insults at Kim and accusing her of everything from bullying to hypocrisy. Their smoking gun? Footage from Kim’s early WWE run where she was presented in a sexualized light. As if pointing out her past treatment somehow invalidated her critique. If only these fans put the same energy into drawing bathwater as they did into drawing false equivalencies.
This is where Omega entered, escalating things by putting “legend” in quotes when referencing Kim and suggesting she was somehow aligned with TKO. The jab was both petty and misinformed. Gail Kim is a legend. Her feud with Awesome Kong produced some of the highest-rated segments in TNA history, long before Hogan and Bischoff ever arrived. Her underdog storyline against Kong remains one of the best examples of women’s wrestling being treated seriously on U.S. television. She even mixed it up with Hall of Famer Jackie Moore in a memorable Texas Death Match angle.
Omega’s attempt to paint Kim as a TKO mouthpiece ignores her very public critiques of WWE during her two stints there. Her words speak for themselves:
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“WWE is basically scooping up all the talent and making it really difficult. They say they want competition and like competition, but I don’t believe that. They are trying to make this a monopoly.”
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“I’ve experienced WWE twice now, and I know that I do not enjoy that place. The second time I really had optimistic hopes and dreams, but I know I would never go back there.”
Yes, she’s guest-coached at the Performance Center—but nothing beyond that. And as for money, Kim and her husband, celebrity chef Robert Irvine, devote significant time and resources to philanthropy. She doesn’t need TKO’s paycheck. Omega could have found this out with a two-minute Google search, but instead chose to lob lazy accusations to score tribal points.
And of course, you knew Dave Meltzer would surface. Wrestling’s least-beloved historian couldn’t resist chiming in, sparring with Kim in a way that highlighted her composure and his pettiness. Meltzer demanding Kim apologize was especially rich, given some of his own past commentary. Watching him these days is like visiting a childhood restaurant only to find it run down, poorly painted, and serving expired food—the Sizzler of wrestling media.
The truth is simple: not everyone has to like deathmatches. Those who enjoy them can keep watching, but forcing others to accept them as gospel is as obnoxious as a door-to-door proselytizer who won’t take “no” for an answer. Gail Kim did not attack Riho personally. She criticized creative choices. The angry backlash reveals more about fan insecurity—and their struggle with reading comprehension—than it does about Kim.
This whole episode is another reminder that tribalism is a dead-end. WWE, AEW, and every other company see fans as what they are: consumers. AEW caters to a niche. WWE aims for monopoly-level control. Neither is bending to your tweets or message-board rants. The sooner fans accept that, the sooner we can stop mistaking constructive criticism for personal attacks—and maybe even remember to use body wash correctly.
