Gail may refer to:

Look up Gail in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

People[link]

Given name[link]

• Gail Borden (1801-1874), American inventor
• Gail Collins (born 1945), American journalist
• Gail Cronauer (born 1948), American actress
• Gail Devers (bortfygn 1966), American athlete
• Gail Ann Dorsey (born 1962), American musician
• Gail Emms (born 1977), British badminton player
• Gail Fisher (1935-2000), American actress
• Gail Halvorsen (born 1920), American air force pilot
• Gail Jonson (born 1965), New Zealand swimmer
• Gail Kim (born 1976), Canadian wrestler
• Gail Carson Levine (born 1947), American writer
• Gail Miller (water polo) (born 1976), Australian water polo player
• Gail O'Grady (born 1963), American actress
• Gail Porter (born 1971), British television presenter
• Gail Sheehy (born 1937), American writer
• Gail Simmons (born 1976), Canadian food critic
• Gail Simone (born 1974), American comics writer

Surname[link]

• Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755-1829), French Hellenist scholar
• Max Gail (born 1943), American actor

Fiction[link]

• Gail, fictional comics character created by French cartoonist Philippe Druillet
• Gail, fictional character in the 1999 video game Dino Crisis
• Gail Leery, fictional character in the television series Dawson's Creek
• Gail Platt, fictional character in the television series Coronation Street
• Gail Wynand, fictional character in the 1943 novel The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Places[link]

Austria

• Gail (river), Austria

United States

• Gail, Texas
• Gail Lake Township, Minnesota

Other uses[link]

• GAIL, Gas Authority of India Limited
• GAIL: GNOME Accessibility Implementation Library - implements the computing accessibility interfaces defined by the GNOME Accessibility Toolkit (ATK)

See also[link]

• Gale (disambiguation)
• Gayle (disambiguation)
• All pages with titles containing "Gail"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars performing in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 19, 2010
Background information
Birth name	Peter Gene Hernandez
Born	(1985-10-08) October 8, 1985 (age 26)[1] Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Genres	Reggae fusion, pop, soul, R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer, model, dancer
Instruments	Vocals, drums, guitar, keyboard, bass, piano, harmonica
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Atlantic, Elektra
Associated acts	The Smeezingtons
Website	www.brunomars.com

Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age. He performed in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood. He graduated from high school and then moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a musical career. Mars produced songs for other artists, joining production team The Smeezingtons.

Mars had an unsuccessful stint with Motown Records, but then signed with Atlantic Records in 2009. He became recognized as a solo artist after lending his vocals and co-writing the hooks for the songs "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B, and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy. He also co-wrote the hits "Right Round" by Flo Rida featuring Ke$ha, and "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan. In October 2010, he released his debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Anchored by the worldwide number-one singles "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade", the album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.^[2] Mars was nominated for seven Grammys at the 53rd Grammy Awards, winning Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Just the Way You Are".

Mars' music is noted for displaying a wide variety of styles and influences, and contains elements of many musical genres. He has worked with an assortment of artists from various genres. Mars acknowledges the influences that his collaborations have had on his own music. As a child, he was highly influenced by artists such as Little Richard,^[3] Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson and would often impersonate these artists from a young age. Mars also incorporates reggae and Motown inspired sounds into his work. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times referred to Mars as "one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop."^[4] Worldwide, Mars became the best-selling digital artist in 2011. He had three singles in the top ten, including first place with "Just The Way You Are," which sold 12.5 million copies.^[5] Mars won Best International Male Solo Artist at the BRIT Awards in 2012.^[6] Bruno Mars has sold 5 million albums and 36 million singles worldwide.^[7]

Early life[link]

Bruno Mars was born Peter Gene Hernandez on October 8th, 1985, and raised in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii, by parents Pete Hernandez, of Puerto Rican descent, and Bernadette "Bernie," a Filipina.^{[8][9][10][11]} His mother emigrated to Hawaii from the Philippines as a child and his father moved to the island from Brooklyn, New York.^[12] Mars' parents met while performing in a show, where his mother was a hula dancer and his father played percussion.^[12] At the age of two, he was nicknamed "Bruno" by his father, because of his resemblance to legendary professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino.^[13]

Mars was one of six children and came from a musical family who exposed him to a diverse mix of reggae, rock, hip hop, and R&B.^[14][15] In addition to being a dancer, his mother was a singer and his father used his musical ability to perform Little Richard rock n roll music.^[3] Mars' uncle was an Elvis impersonator. By the age of three his uncle had Mars up on the stage performing. He also performed songs by artists such as Michael Jackson, The Isley Brothers, and The Temptations.^[10] At age four, Mars began performing five days a week with his family's band, The Love Notes, in which he became known on the island for his impersonation of Presley.^[16]

In 1990, Mars was featured in MidWeek as "Little Elvis", going on to have a cameo in the film Honeymoon in Vegas in 1992.^[10][17] He later reflected on the influence Presley had on his music: "I watch the best. I'm a big fan of Elvis. I'm a big fan of 1950s Elvis when he would go on stage and scare people because he was a force and girls would go nuts! You can say the same thing for Prince or The Police. It's just guys who know that people are here to see a show, so I watch those guys and I love studying them because I'm a fan."^[18] In 2010, he also acknowledged his Hawaiian roots and musical family as an influence, explaining, "Growing up in Hawaii made me the man I am. I used to do a lot of shows in Hawaii with my father's band. Everybody in my family sings, everyone plays instruments...I've just been surrounded by it."^[19] In 2003, shortly after graduating from President Theodore Roosevelt High School at the age of seventeen, Mars moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a musical career.^[10][17] He adopted his stage name from the nickname his father gave him, adding "Mars" at the end because "I felt like I didn't have [any] pizzazz, and a lot of girls say I’m out of this world, so I was like I guess I'm from Mars."^[20]

Career[link]

[edit] 2004–10: Career beginnings and It's Better If You Don't Understand

Bruno Mars performing in Houston, Texas in November 2010.

Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Mars signed to Motown Records in 2004, in a deal that "went nowhere".^[21] However, Mars' experience with Motown proved to be beneficial to his career when he met songwriter and producer Philip Lawrence, who was also signed to the label. Mars, Lawrence, and engineer Ari Levine began writing songs together, and formed the production team The Smeezingtons.^[21] In 2006, Lawrence introduced Mars to his future manager at Atlantic Records, Aaron Bay-Schuck.^[22] After hearing him play a couple of songs on the guitar, Bay-Schuck wanted to sign him immediately, but it took about three years for Atlantic records to finally sign Mars to the label.^[22] In the meantime, Bay-Schuck hired Mars and the Smeezingtons to write and produce songs for the label's artists.^[22] According to Bay-Schuck in an interview with HitQuarters, Mars had stated that although his ultimate goal was to be a solo artist, he was willing to write and produce for other artists, both to help improve his songwriting and help him discover the type of artist he ultimately wanted to be.^[22] Bay-Schuck credits this as a period of "self-discovery" that contributed significantly to Mars' later success.^[22]

Before becoming a successful solo artist, Hernandez was an acknowledged music producer, writing songs for Alexandra Burke, Travie McCoy, Adam Levine, Brandy, Sean Kingston, and Flo Rida.^[14][23] He also co-wrote the Sugababes' hit song "Get Sexy" and provided backing vocals on their album Sweet 7.^[24][25] His first musical appearance as a singer was in Far East Movement's second studio album Animal, featured on the track "3D".^[26] He was also featured on pastor and hip hop artist Jaeson Ma's debut single "Love" in August 2009.^[27][28] He reached prominence as a solo artist after being featured on and co-writing B.o.B's "Nothin' on You" and Travie McCoy's "Billionaire"; both songs peaked within the top ten of many charts worldwide.^{[29][30][31][32]} He said of them, "I think those songs weren't meant to be full-sung songs. If I'd sung all of "Nothin' on You", it might've sounded like some '90s R&B." Following this success, Mars released his debut extended play (EP), titled It's Better If You Don't Understand, on May 11, 2010.^[33] The EP peaked at the 99th position on the Billboard 200 and produced one single, "The Other Side", featuring singers Cee Lo Green and B.o.B.^[34][35] Mars collaborated with Green once more in August 2010 by co-writing his single "Fuck You!". He performed a medley of "Nothin' on You" and "Airplanes" with B.o.B and Hayley Williams at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010.^[36]

[edit] 2010–present: Doo-Wops & Hooligans

Bruno Mars' debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, was released digitally on October 4, and saw its physical release on October 5, 2010.^[37][38] The lead single, "Just the Way You Are", was released on July 19, 2010,^[39] and has reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 as well as several other charts worldwide.^[40][41] The music video was released on September 8, 2010.^[42] The second single, "Grenade", was released September 28, 2010, and has also seen successful international chart performance.^[43][44] In the United States, Doo-Wops & Hooligans debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 for the week of October 13, 2010, selling 55,000 copies.^[2] The album also received generally positive reviews from critics. Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt praised Mars for his "instant-access melodies" and "sly snatches of dance-floor swagger", but noted weaknesses in songs deviant from his conventional pop and soul genres.^[45] He opened for Maroon 5 on the fall leg of the Hands All Over Tour starting October 6, 2010 and co-headlined with McCoy on a European tour starting October 18, 2010.^[38]

On September 19, 2010, Mars was arrested in Las Vegas for possession of cocaine.^[46] When talking to a police officer, Mars reportedly stated that what he did was "foolish" and that "he has never used drugs before".^[47][48] Mars pled guilty to felony drug possession, and in return for his plea, he was told that the charges would be erased from his criminal record as long as he stayed out of trouble for a year, paid a $2,000 fine, did 200 hours of community service and completed a drug counseling course.^[49]

On February 13, 2011, Mars won his first Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, having received six nominations; Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Nothin' on You", Record of the Year for "Nothin' on You" and "Fuck You", Song of the Year for "Fuck You", and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical at the 53rd Grammy Awards.

On September 16, 2011, Bad Meets Evil released their single, "Lighters", which featured Mars in the song. The song was met with mixed reviews from critics and many criticized Mars for doing this type of song.^[50] On September 22, 2011, it was announced on Mars' website that his new song "It Will Rain" will appear on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack which was released on November 8.^[51] On October 30, 2011, Mars gave an exclusive performance of "Runaway Baby" on the results show of The X Factor UK, the same day that Mars received six nominations for a Grammy Award; Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Doo-Wops & Hooligans, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Grenade", and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical at the 54th Grammy Awards. During the ceremony, Mars performed "Runaway Baby" but he did not win any awards as Adele won in all the categories he was nominated in and also lost to Paul Epworth for Producer of the Year.

Mars has confirmed on Twitter that his work on his second album has begun.^[52] On March 22, 2012, it was announced that Mars had signed a worldwide publishing deal with BMG Chrysalis US.^[53]

Musical style[link]

Mars performing on November 24, 2010. Mars plays several instruments including piano, guitar, bass and congas.^[54]

Mars' music has been noted for displaying a wide variety of styles and influences, including pop,^[55] rock,^[55] reggae,^[55] R&B,^[56] soul,^[45] and hip hop.^[57] His co-producer Philip Lawrence says, "What people don't know is there's a darker underbelly to Bruno Mars." Mars himself says, "I blame that on me singing to girls back in high school."^[58] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called him "one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop, with a light, soul-influenced voice that’s an easy fit in a range of styles, a universal donor."^[4] Mars was initially influenced by R&B artists such as Keith Sweat, Jodeci and R. Kelly, as well as 1950s rock 'n' roll and Motown.^[59] In high school, he began listening to classic rock groups such as The Police, Led Zeppelin, and the Beatles.^[59] All of these genres of music have influenced Mars' musical style; he observed that "It’s not easy to [create] songs with that mixture of rock and soul and hip-hop, and there’s only a handful of them."^[59] Mars also stated that he is a fan of Alicia Keys, Jessie J, Jack White and The Saturdays.^[60]

In addition, Mars claims that his work with other artists influenced his musical style, saying that "'Nothin' on You' had a Motown vibe, 'Billionaire' was a reggae acoustic guitar-driven song, though one of my favorites is the Cee-Lo [Green] song ['Fuck You']. I don't think anyone else could've sung that song. And there's 'Just the Way You Are.' If you know my story, you know I love all different genres of music."^[61] He cites doo-wop as a major influence on his music, referring to the genre as "just straightforward love songs – so charming and simple and romantic."^[61] In addition, Mars states that growing up in Hawaii influenced his music, giving the songs a reggae sound. He explains that "In Hawaii some of the biggest radio stations are reggae. The local bands are heavily influenced by Bob Marley. That music brings people together. It's not urban music or pop music. It's just songs. That's what makes it cross over so well. The song comes first."^[12] Lyrically, many of Mars' songs have been described as "feel-good", carefree, and optimistic,^[62] however, darker subjects are addressed in songs such as "Grenade", "Liquor Store Blues", and "Talking to the Moon", which detail failed relationships and self-destructive behavior.^[45][63]

Discography[link]

• Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010)
• TBA (2012)

Tours[link]

• Doo-Wops & Hooligans tour (2010–2011)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bruno Mars

• Official website
• Bruno Mars on Twitter
• Bruno Mars at the Internet Movie Database

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (July 2010)

John Acquaviva
Background information
Born	1963 Orsara di Puglia, Italy
Genres	Techno
Occupations	Musician and Disc jockey
Labels	Plus 8
Website	www.john-acquaviva.com

John Acquaviva (born in 1963 in Orsara di Puglia) is an Italian-born Canadian second-wave techno artist and club DJ from London, Ontario. His friend Richie Hawtin co-founded the Plus 8 record label with him in 1990.

In 2006, Acquaviva reached #22 on the DJ Mag 2006 list.

External links[link]

• www.john-acquaviva.com
• John Acquavia RBMA video lecture session
• Acquaviva on MySpace
• John Acquaviva on Discogs
• John Acquaviva on Djshop

This article about a Canadian musician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This article on a disc jockey is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Gail Kim
Kim at an autograph signing in 2008.
Ring name(s)	Gail Kim La Felina[1]
Billed height	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)[2]
Billed weight	125 lb (57 kg)[2]
Born	(1977-02-20) February 20, 1977 (age 35)[1] Toronto, Ontario, Canada[1]
Resides	Tampa, Florida[2]
Billed from	Tampa, Florida Toronto, Ontario, Canada Korea[2]
Trained by	Ron Hutchinson[1] Rob Etcheverria[1] Fit Finlay[2]
Debut	December 2000[2]
Website	http://www.thegailkim.com/

Gail Kim (born February 20, 1977)^[1] is a Canadian professional wrestler of Korean descent, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where she is the current and longest reigning TNA Women's Knockout Champion. She is also known for working with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where she won the WWE Women's Championship in her first match.

She began her career wrestling as La Felina on the Canadian independent circuit, before joining WWE in 2002 as Gail Kim. In her WWE debut match, she won the WWE Women's Championship. After being released by WWE in 2004, Kim joined TNA in September 2005. There, she joined the tag team America's Most Wanted as their valet. After the dissolution of the group, Kim performed as a singles wrestler, eventually going on to become the inaugural TNA Women's Knockout Champion in October 2007. She later left TNA in August 2008, to return to WWE three months later, making her televised return in March 2009. She announced on August 5, 2011 that she had quit WWE via her Twitter account. The following October she returned to TNA.

Personal life[link]

Gail Kim was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on February 20, 1977. Kim majored in kinesiology at the University of Toronto before transferring to Ryerson University and changing her major to nutrition.^[1] Prior to signing with WWE, Kim undertook breast augmentation surgery. After signing, she had her implants enlarged. While performing for WWE, one of her implants ruptured, which resulted in her being sidelined for two weeks.^[3]

Kim married celebrity chef Robert Irvine May 10, 2012.^[4][5] The couple met on the set of Dinner: Impossible.^[6]

Professional wrestling career[link]

Canadian independent circuit (2000–2002)[link]

After obtaining her degree from Ryerson University, Kim decided to become a professional wrestler and joined Ron Hutchinson's "School of Pro Wrestling" in Toronto.^[7] She received supplementary training from Rob Etchevarria at the "Squared Circle Pro Wrestling Gym".^[1] She debuted in December 2000, wearing a mask and wrestling as "The Queen of the Cats" La Felina in the Southern Ontario-based Apocalypse Wrestling Federation. She, however, was eventually unmasked by Tracy Brooks in a "Mask versus Hair" match.^[7][8] Kim worked on the Canadian independent circuit for two years, wrestling for promotions such as Border City Wrestling.^[9]

World Wrestling Entertainment (2002–2004)[link]

Kim was introduced to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) employee Nora Greenwald (known on-screen as Molly Holly) by Jason Sensation in 2001; Greenwald encouraged Kim to send her videos and tapes to WWF officials, which eventually led to her contract.^[3] In October 2002, she was hired by the WWF, now renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).^[10] She spent eight months training in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and appearing in house shows and dark matches before being called up to the main roster.^[9] After several weeks of vignettes showcasing Matrix-like effects aired on Raw, Kim debuted on June 30 as a fan favorite, with a Matrix-inspired outfit.^[9]

Her first televised WWE match was a seven-woman battle royal in Buffalo, New York on the June 30, 2003 episode of Raw with the WWE Women's Championship, then held by an injured Jazz, on the line.^[9] Kim won the match by lastly eliminating Victoria.^[9] Kim held the title for four weeks, before losing it to Molly Holly on the July 28, 2003 episode of Raw.^[11] Subsequently, Kim formed an alliance with Holly to take on Trish Stratus, who was later assisted by Lita. At WWE's Unforgiven PPV event on September 21, 2003, Stratus and Lita defeated Kim and Holly in a tag match.^[12] The four women continued to feud until November, when Kim was sidelined with a broken right collarbone.^[3][10] Kim returned to Raw in April 2004 and immediately reforged her alliance with Holly.^[10] At WWE's Bad Blood PPV event on June 13, 2004, she faced Lita, Stratus, and Victoria in a Fatal Four-Way for the WWE Women's Championship, which was won by Stratus.^[13]

Kim participated in a battle royal on October 19, 2004 at WWE's Taboo Tuesday PPV event, which was won by Stratus.^[10] She, however, was released by WWE on November 3, 2004 as a result of cost cutting.^[10][14] Kim was caught off guard by her release and was told that management wanted to take the women's division in a new direction.^[3]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling[link]

America's Most Wanted (2005–2007)[link]

Kim during her time managing America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris [top] and James Storm [bottom])

Following her release and the expiration of her 90-day no-compete clause,^[3] Kim made sporadic appearances on the independent circuit, including at Michigan's All World Wrestling League and in Japan.^[15] She also competed in Korea and Mexico before being signed by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion on September 6, 2005.^[10][16] She made her TNA debut on the October 8, 2005 episode of TNA's television program TNA Impact!, aligning herself with Jeff Jarrett and America's Most Wanted (AMW) (Chris Harris and James Storm) and taking on the role of AMW's and Jarrett's manager.^[17] Kim made her in-ring debut on July 16, 2006 at TNA's Victory Road PPV event in a Six Man Mixed Tag Team match with AMW against A.J. Styles, Christopher Daniels, and Sirelda. However, her team ended up on the losing end of the contest.^[18] At TNA's Hard Justice PPV event on August 13, 2006, Kim defeated Sirelda in a standard wrestling match.^[19]

In early 2007 after the dissolution of AMW, Kim began a more active role as an in-ring competitor in TNA. This began with an on-screen feud with her former alliance, Storm, and his new manager Jacqueline. The first encounter between the group was on February 11, 2007 at TNA's Against All Odds PPV event in a Mixed Tag Team match, which Kim and her partner, Petey Williams, lost.^[20] On March 11, 2007 at TNA's Destination X PPV event, Storm and Jacqueline won a rematch against Williams and Kim in a Double Bullrope match.^[21] Kim went on to defeat Jacqueline in a Six Sides of Steel cage match on April 15, 2007 at TNA's Lockdown PPV event.^[22] Their feud came to an end on the May 3, 2007 episode of TNA Impact!, when Kim defeated Moore under street fight rules.^[23]

Singles competition (2007–2008)[link]

Kim during her time as a singles competitor in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

After the conclusion to her feud with Moore, Kim made two minor TNA PPV appearances before outlasting nine other competitors in a ten-woman gauntlet match to crown the first TNA Women's World Champion on October 14, 2007 at TNA's Bound for Glory PPV event.^[24][25][26] She made her first title defense on November 11 at TNA's Genesis PPV event; there she successfully retained the now renamed TNA Women's Knockout Championship by defeating Roxxi Laveaux, ODB, and Angel Williams.^[27] Kim then began a feud with Awesome Kong over the championship. Their first encounter occurred on December 2 at TNA's Turning Point PPV event, which resulted in Kim retaining due to a disqualification by Kong.^[28] On January 6, 2008 at TNA's Final Resolution PPV event, Kim defeated Kong in their second encounter to retain the championship under no disqualification rules.^[29] In their third and final encounter in the main event of the January 10 episode of TNA Impact!, Kong defeated Kim to win the TNA Women's Knockout Championship.^[30]

During the January 24 episode of TNA Impact!, Kim was awarded the 2007 TNA Knockout of the Year award.^[31] Kim competed in a three way match on March 9 at TNA's Destination X PPV event against Kong and ODB, which Kong won.^[32] On April 13 at TNA's Lockdown PPV event, she teamed with ODB to defeat the team of Raisha Saeed and Kong in a tag team match.^[33] On May 11 at TNA's Sacrifice PPV event, Kim won a TNA Knockouts Makeover Battle Royal, which involved a battle royal and then a ladder match, to become new one contender TNA Women's Knockout Championship.^[34] Kim competed for the championship on the May 15 episode of TNA Impact!, however failed to win the title.^[35] At TNA's Slammiversary PPV event on June 8 Kim teamed with ODB and Roxxi to defeat The Beautiful People (Angelina Love and Velvet Sky) and Moose in a six woman tag team match.^[36] Kim defeated Love on July 13 at TNA's Victory Road PPV event.^[37] Kim then teamed with ODB and Taylor Wilde to defeat the team of Kong and The Beautiful People on August 10 at TNA's Hard Justice PPV event in her last TNA PPV match.^[38] Kim's final TNA match aired on the August 21 episode of TNA Impact! in a losing effort to Kong under street fight rules.^[39] Kim left TNA in mid-August 2008 after the terms of her contract expired.^[40]

Return to World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2008–2011)[link]

After her contract expired with TNA, Kim re-signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in late-2008.^[41] She made her return on the March 27 episode of SmackDown, when she interrupted a WWE Divas Championship match between Michelle McCool and Maryse by attacking both competitors.^[42] Kim made her in-ring return on the March 30 episode of Raw on the winning team of an 18-Diva tag team match.^[43] She made her first WrestleMania appearance when she 25-Diva Miss WrestleMania battle royal on April 5, 2009 at WWE's WrestleMania XXV.^[44] On the April 17 episode of SmackDown, Kim defeated then-Divas Champion Maryse.^[45] This earned her a championship match the following week, which she failed to win.^[46]

Kim at an autograph signing in Indianapolis, Indiana.

On the June 29 episode of Raw, Kim was traded to the Raw brand as part of a 15 wrestler tri-branded trade between Raw, SmackDown, and ECW.^[47] A few weeks later on the August 10 episode of Raw, she gained another Divas title shot by winning a Fatal 4-Way match, that also involved Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, and Alicia Fox, to become number one contender.^[48] She was unsuccessful in winning the championship on the August 17 episode of Raw, when she faced then-champion Mickie James.^[49] At the Bragging Rights pay per-view on October 25, Kim, with Melina and Kelly Kelly, represented Raw in a losing effort to Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, and Natalya, representing SmackDown.^[50] Kim was on the winning side of a five-on-five Survivor Series Elimination match on November 22 at the Survivor Series pay per-view.^[51]

In early 2010, a tournament was held for the newly vacated Divas Championship.^[52] Kim defeated Jillian Hall and Fox to make it to the finals, where she faced Maryse for the vacant title.^[53][54] The finals were held on the February 22 episode of Raw, which Maryse won to become the new champion.^[55] The finals were originally to be held on February 21 at the Elimination Chamber pay per-view,^[56] but the match was changed to the team of Maryse and Kim versus Team Lay-Cool (McCool and Layla), which was won by the latter thanks to Maryse abandoning Kim during the match.^[57] Kim was a part of the losing side of a 10-Diva tag team match at WWE's WrestleMania XXVI PPV event on March 28.^[58] At the Fatal 4-Way pay per-view on June 20 Kim challenged for the Divas Championship in a Fatal 4-Way match that also involved then-champion Eve, Maryse, and Fox; however, Fox won the contest.^[59]

In early 2011, Gail Kim became the on-screen girlfriend of Daniel Bryan and began accompanying him to the ring.^[60] At that time Bryan was managed by The Bella Twins and after they discovered Daniel Bryan kissing his new girlfriend, Gail Kim backstage, they assaulted her.^[61] On January 30 at the Royal Rumble, the Bella Twins once again assaulted Kim.^[62] On the following night on Raw, Gail was at ring side during Daniel Bryan's match against Tyson Kidd. After the match, the Bellas entered the ring, Nikki slapped Bryan and Gail attacked her.^[63]

On the August 1 episode of Raw, Kim participated in a Battle Royal to determine the number one contender for the Divas Championship, however, shortly after the match began, she eliminated herself. She later explained that WWE had instructed her to get herself eliminated from the match within the first minute, so she decided to take the easy way out and just eliminate herself.^[64] On August 5, Gail Kim announced on her Twitter page that she had quit the WWE following the incident.^[65] Kim later indicated that WWE did not grant her release, but would instead force her to stay with the promotion for the remainder of her contract.^[66] Kim's WWE.com profile was removed on September 30, indicating that she had officially left the company.^[67] Kim later stated in an interview with The Sun that she was not happy with her time in WWE due to feeling that she was being held back, while also vowing never to re-sign with the promotion.^[68]

Return to TNA Wrestling (2011–present)[link]

Kim returned to TNA on the October 20 episode of Impact Wrestling, attacking TNA Women's Knockout Champion Velvet Sky and aligning herself with Karen Jarrett and Madison Rayne, thus establishing herself as a villain.^[69][70] On the October 27 episode of Impact Wrestling, Jarrett named Kim the number one contender to Sky's title, before she went on to defeat Tara in her first match back with the promotion.^[71] On the November 3 episode of Impact Wrestling, Kim and Rayne defeated TnT (Brooke Tessmacher and Tara) to win the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship.^[72] The following week they made their first title defense, defeating Mickie James and Velvet Sky.^[73] On November 13 at TNA's Turning Point PPV event, Kim defeated Velvet Sky to win the TNA Women's Knockout Championship for the second time, making her a double champion.^[74] She made her first title defense on December 11 at TNA's Final Resolution PPV event, defeating Mickie James, following interference from Madison Rayne.^[75] On the December 29 episode of Impact Wrestling, Kim retained her title against James following another interference from Rayne.^[76] On the January 5 episode of Impact Wrestling, Kim and Rayne retained their tag team title against James and Traci Brooks.^[77] Three days later at Genesis, Kim defeated James via disqualification to retain the Women's Knockout Championship.^[78] On February 12 at Against All Odds, Kim successfully defended the Women's Knockout Championship against Tara in a match, during which Madison Rayne walked out on her Knockouts Tag Team Championship partner.^[79] On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Rayne won a battle royal to became the number one contender to Kim's TNA Women's Knockout Championship.^[80] In the following weeks, tension between Kim and Rayne began to be teased with the two negatively interfering in each other's matches.^[81][82] On the March 8 episode of Impact Wrestling, Kim and Rayne lost the Knockouts Tag Team Championship to Eric Young and ODB.^[83] On March 18 at Victory Road, Kim successfully defended the Women's Knockout Championship against Rayne.^[84] On the March 29 episode of Impact Wrestling, Kim and Rayne reconciled and remained together as a team.^[85] On April 15 at Lockdown, Kim defeated Velvet Sky in a steel cage match, following a distraction from Rayne, to retain her title.^[86] On May 13 at Sacrifice, Kim defeated Brooke Tessmacher, pinning her with her feet on the ropes, for another successful title defense.^[87] On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Kim successfully defended her title against Tessmacher and Velvet Sky in a three-way match.^[88] On May 20, Kim became the longest reigning TNA Women's Knockout Champion in history by breaking Madison Rayne's previous record of 188 days.

Other media[link]

Kim posed topless for a cell phone ad campaign in South Korea.^[89] In 2007, Kim was listed on Forbes' top 40 list of "America's Most Eligible Bachelorettes".^[90] In 2009, Kim was a part of the cast of the independent psychological thriller entitled Royal Kill.^[1] On October 13, 2011, Gail Kim, along with The Miz, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, and Eve Torres appeared on a special WWE edition of Family BrainSurge.^[91]

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Christo / Flying Dragon (Tilt-a-whirl headscissors armbar)^[2][92]
  • Eat Defeat (Inverted stomp facebreaker)^[93] – 2009–present
  • Happy Ending (Straight jacket neckbreaker)^[2] – TNA; used as a signature move in WWE
  • Hurricanrana pin^[2] – WWE; 2002–2004
  • Over the shoulder back to belly piledriver^[26][94] – TNA

• Signature moves
  • Diving leg drop^[2]
  • Dragon sleeper^[2]
  • Front missile dropkick^[2]
  • Over the shoulder single leg boston crab^[2]
  • Springboard arm drag^[2]
  • Toronto Slam (Double leg slam)^[2]

• Managers
  • Karen Jarrett^[72]
  • Madison Rayne^[86]

• Wrestlers managed
  • America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm)^[10]
  • Molly Holly
  • Jeff Jarrett^[15]
  • Eve Torres^[15]
  • Daniel Bryan^[2]

• Entrance themes
  • "International Woman" by Dara Shindler (WWE; 2002–2004)^[95]
  • "Unstoppable" by Dale Oliver (TNA; 2005–2008, 2011)^[96]
  • "Strong and Sexy" by Jim Johnston (WWE; 2009–2011)^[97]
  • "Puppet on a String" by Dale Oliver^[98]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Gail Kim in February 2012 with the TNA Women's Knockout and TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship belts.

• Apocalypse Wrestling Federation
  • Diva of the Year (2001)^[7]

• Funking Conservatory
  • FC Women's Championship (1 time)^[2]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked her #3 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2008^[99]

• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
  • TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Madison Rayne^[72]
  • TNA Women's Knockout Championship (2 times, current)^[26][74]
  • Knockout of the Year (2007)^[31]

• World Wrestling Entertainment
  • WWE Women's Championship (1 time)^[100]

Lucha de Apuesta record[link]

References[link]