Felix Upton on September 26, 2025
Gail Kim has been catching serious heat online after making comments about AEW star Riho, but now wrestling veteran Jim Cornette has jumped to her defense—and he’s not holding back.
The drama started when Gail Kim responded to a fan asking about Jim Cornette’s past remarks on Asian female wrestlers. Kim admitted she hadn’t seen much of it, but after being sent clips of Cornette criticizing Riho, she offered her take.
Kim clarified she didn’t take issue with Cornette’s criticism of wrestling styles, but rather with one specific personal jab.
“The only issue that I had was that he made a comment about her teeth. I will say, and I haven’t watched AEW in a very long time, but when I did watch Riho… I did feel uncomfortable watching her because the camera shots would go up her skirt and she was always dressed like a very little girl and it felt improper.”
Kim added that Riho’s character presentation didn’t feel believable to her.
“I am also into very believable wrestling… and it was very hard for me to believe a little girl that was being portrayed of that size was fighting the women they had in that division. To put it into context, I find Io, Mia, Asuka, Kairi, and Lei Ying to be more believable and I don’t feel uncomfortable watching.”
Things escalated when Kim fired off at Dave Meltzer on Twitter, after learning the full backstory behind Riho’s situation and the years of bullying Japanese women wrestlers have faced. Meltzer defended Riho and asked Kim if she understood why people were upset. That didn’t go over well.
“I actually found out today and listened to a reasonable person about it a**hole. Keep on making your biased assumptions and your star ratings that mean F all.”
Meltzer tried to calm the fire:
“Now that you know the back story on why people were upset, can you at least understand? I defended you as much as possible on my show last night and explained that you probably didn’t know the backstory. Now that you do, what is your opinion on the years of horrible bullying that the Japanese women wrestlers received?”
Enter Jim Cornette—who unloaded on Meltzer while standing firmly by Gail Kim.
“No Dave, nobody understands why you’ve gone bonkers over an experienced pro having a negative opinion on the amateur-hour shit you like. I’m sorry people are harassing HER because you’re pissed a 30-something year old friend of yours is experiencing ‘horrible bullying’ ON TWITTER.”
For Cornette, the outrage is ridiculous and rooted more in Meltzer’s personal bias than in legitimate concern. And for Kim, the controversy has now become much larger than just Riho—sparking new debates about believability, presentation, and cultural sensitivity in wrestling.
Do you think Gail Kim crossed the line, or is she just speaking from a veteran’s point of view? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
September 26, 2025 4:43 pm
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