TNA President Reveals Why He Fired Gail Kim, Update On A TNA Television Deal
In March, TNA Wrestling made the decision to part ways with Gail Kim, a TNA Hall of Famer who had been with the company in various roles, including talent relations, since 2011.
TNA President Carlos Silva addressed the move during an appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” explaining the reasoning behind the decision. He said,
“Gail’s a Hall of Famer who’s been with TNA for many years. But when you step into a leadership role, you have to assess what’s working and what isn’t. Sometimes, difficult changes are necessary in order to grow. Letting go of Gail — and a few others — wasn’t easy, but it was part of a broader effort to refresh the energy within the company. From my 25 years of experience, I’ve learned that even when things are going well, you can’t become complacent. Competitors are always coming after you. We felt it was time to shake things up — to reinvigorate the Knockouts division, give more responsibility to some deserving talent, and build a stronger team. And so far, we’ve seen positive results and a renewed sense of camaraderie.”
The move shocked many within the company, with reactions ranging from disbelief to anger.
When asked about the locker room’s response, Silva acknowledged the difficulty of the decision. He said,
“Of course people were upset — Gail had been with us a long time. It was the hardest call I’ve made so far as president of TNA. But what matters is how you bring everyone back together. We’ve worked hard these past few months to be transparent with the talent, to build trust, and to foster a sense of unity. The feedback I’ve received is that people like the direction we’re heading. I believe strongly in positive energy, and that’s something we’re working hard to infuse into every part of the organization.”
In addition to Kim, TNA also released Ariel Shnerner, Rob Kligman, and Michael Shewchenko in March.
Elsewhere in the interview, Silva provided an update on the company’s ongoing search for a new media rights deal. He said,
“Alongside our partners at AXS — Len Asper and Andy Schuon, who runs AXS TV — we’re actively pursuing a larger platform. We have CAA supporting us, and we’re right in the thick of it. If a few key things come together, I’d love to share more. We’re close. We’ve been working on this since I joined, really since the beginning of the year, and things have picked up significantly over the past 60 days.”
When asked how soon a deal could be announced, Silva replied, “I think we’re looking at a 60 to 90-day window. The media landscape is constantly evolving — week to week, things are shifting. Just this week, we saw networks changing ownership again. Nothing is finalized until every ‘i’ is dotted and ‘t’ is crossed, but we’re putting in the work.”
Silva confirmed that the new deal would take effect at the end of 2025.
On the topic of whether TNA would move to live weekly broadcasts, Silva revealed, “A lot of our prospective partners have asked for that — 52 live episodes a year. We’re exploring how to make that feasible. Maybe we don’t start in January at full speed, but the goal is definitely to move in that direction.”
TNA iMPACT! has aired several live episodes throughout 2025 already.
As for whether the show would continue airing on Thursdays, Silva said it remains undecided. He stated,
“That could be up for grabs. You have to consider the crowded programming schedule. You don’t want to go head-to-head — [he said ‘collision,’ though it’s unclear if he meant competing shows or AEW Collision] — and get into that kind of game. Thursday has worked well for us so far.”
(h/t – Fightful)
