Gail Kim recalls how she found out about Frankie Kazarian's return to IMPACT Wrestling.
Kazarian previously worked for TNA/IMPACT for several years; he was a four-time X-Division Champion during his initial runs with the company, among other accolades. He signed with AEW in 2019 but ultimately left the company at the end of 2022 and returned to IMPACT at the Hard To Kill pay-per-view on January 13, where he announced that he signed a long-term contract.
Speaking with Steve Fall for WrestlingNewsCo, Kim looked back on IMPACT Hard To Kill. When Kazarian's return came up in the conversation, Kim recalled how few people knew about it. She stated that she was aware ahead of time, but she wasn't sure of Kazarian's presence until he was cutting his promo because his wife, Traci Brooks, threw her off his trail.
“It was kept pretty tightly under wraps. Not many people knew, and when I mean not many people, meaning even in management didn’t know. Yes, he was very hidden. I have a very close relationship with Frankie and Tracy, his wife, because I used to be roommates with them back in the day, so we’re like a big, happily family. So I did know Frankie was coming, but even Tracy tried to throw me off the day of. So I texted her during the day, I said, ‘When is Frankie getting here?’ She said, ‘What do you mean?’ So she totally threw me off. I totally believed that he wasn’t coming to Hard To Kill. Then I saw him doing his promo, and that’s when I discovered that he was there that day. This jd me, being in the office [laughs]. So I was like, ‘Oh, I’m so mad right now. I’m so mad that they hid it from me,'" Kim said with a laugh.
Kim went on to describe how, now that Kazarian is back in IMPACT, she is happy for him. She emphasized that he is in great shape, and he can still compete at a high level. Kim also noted that she likes the way veterans like Kazarian and Mickie James can help the next generation and bring them to the top of their game.
"I’m just so happy for Frankie. He’s told me, and I can see it, he is in incredible shape right now. He can go another ten years if he wanted. He showed that he’s still got it in the ring. He had incredible matches with Josh Alexander, Mike Bailey, all these guys previously that you just saw before he signed this long-term deal with us. So I’m excited. I’m excited to see him coming back home, and I’m excited to see the matches that he’s gonna put out there because that short little run he did with us last year was incredible. The match with Chris Sabin was incredible. I’m all about my generation of wrestling, especially people who are in incredible shape like Mickie and Frankie and all these people who can still go, to kind of guide the next generation while they’re still there to show them how to do this wrestling thing at the top of their game," Kim said.
Kazarian previously discussed his decision to return to IMPACT Wrestling. Click here to see what he had to say.
In an interview, Kazarian described how he's ready to help IMPACT in multiple ways. More information is available here.
Click here to check out the card for the February 23 episode of IMPACT Wrestling.
Check out the card for IMPACT No Surrender here.
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