This is the first of a number of blogs that I plan on posting, where I analyze how well certain Divas and Knockouts perform as a face and as a heel, and I state which role I love more. I will also inquire which role fits that certain Diva or Knockout better, and because I just came off from watching Impact Wrestling, my first subject will be Gail Kim.
Face Gail: If you combine her stints in WWE and TNA, Gail has had four different stints as a babyface. She didn't really get to show her heroic side much in her first WWE tenure because she was transformed into a villainess just over a month into her debut. I did get to see Babyface Gail in TNA when she started wrestling more in 2006, and she played her good girl role pretty well. Of course, it was in this role that Gail made history as the first ever TNA Knockouts Champion, so she was basically portrayed as a trailblazer for women's wrestling, which was a good role for her. Gail went back to WWE in 2009, and her second tenure lasted two years. She was a babyface throughout the entire time, and thinking back, I would have enjoyed her role as a face Diva even more if it was going somewhere. Gail is a good babyface, but without any direction, she couldn't do much. It didn't help that she never had a run with the Divas Championship, which was something I thought was going to happen within months of her return to WWE. Gail was mainly a secondary babyface to whoever was the Divas Champion, whether it was Mickie James or Melina.
Gail is currently a babyface Knockout for the first time in her second run in TNA, and I really love this role! I love how she's portrayed in her current role; a once sinister woman who reformed from her wicked ways and stood up to The Beautiful People, who have been back and badder than ever since March. Gail was (and still is) a heroine on a mission, and the pinnacle of that mission saw her become Knockouts Champion for the fourth time.
Heel Gail: Gail has been the villain on three separate occasions in her combined career in WWE and TNA, with her only stint as a heel Diva beginning a week after she lost the Women's Championship to Molly Holly. After her attack on Trish Stratus, Gail aligned with Molly to take on Trish as well as Lita in a feud that lasted several months. At the start, Gail was golden as the cocky villainous upstart in WWE, but that role became much less relevant after Trish became the top heel in 2004. Gail's first stint in TNA saw her as a heel manager aligned with not only America's Most Wanted, but Jeff Jarrett as well. I do think that she was a better heel than she was in WWE, especially because she was allowed to show more personality with the number of times she berated Jackie Gayda. Though, IMO, Gail saved her heel best for last.
After close to five years, Gail's evil side resurfaced when she returned to TNA on October 20, 2011 and attacked then-Knockouts Champion Velvet Sky and became Karen Jarrett's handpicked Knockout. In my view, Gail was portrayed as a woman who turned her back on not only the fans, but the values in women's wrestling that she believed in, and this was shown when Karen Jarrett subjected the rest of the Knockouts to doing things that were beneath them and would normally be beneath someone like Gail, but she cared less about the state of the division. Gail's heel role led to her record-setting Knockouts Championship reign; the longest in history, and she would do a great job playing her arrogant heel role during her lenghty reign.
Gail's feud with Taryn Terrell was great because she was portrayed as a bully of sorts; verbally and physically abusing someone who really wasn't allowed to fight back due to being an official. Her alliance with Lei'D Tapa was interesting, but I loved her feud with Madison Rayne because Gail was portrayed as a vengeful villainess who wanted her title back.
So which side of Gail do I love more? Well, I do love her current role as a babyface, but honestly, I love Heel Gail just a bit better. Gail's one of the long list of women's wrestlers who is great either way, but to me, being evil just seems to suit her. Gail's one of those women who can look evil without trying too hard, and that's one of the things that made her such a great heel. But despite the lack of depth in the past, Gail is a terrific babyface as well. She's just a natural talent all around.
Face Gail or Heel Gail? Which do you prefer?