WWE: Why Mia Yim is my favorite wrestler (and why realistic representation matters)

WWE Superstar Mia Yim isn’t the first Korean American wrestler on the national stage, but she’s the one I’ve been waiting for.

Mia Yim faced Io Shirai in a Ladder Match to determine whose team would have the advantage in their WarGames Match on the Nov. 13 episode of NXT.

During the match, Shirai hit a springboard dropkick to a ladder that Yim was holding, knocking it into her face and causing a nasal fracture. This prevented Yim’s participation at Takeover WarGames, and it left me disheartened as a Korean American wrestling fan because this would have been her most high-profile match to date (non-Shayna Baszler division).

Mia Yim is my favorite wrestler not just because she is Korean American, but because her character is a more realistic portrayal of the experiences many Korean Americans and Asian Americans experience, particularly those who are biracial like Yim and myself.

Note: racial/ethnic representation is not the only reason for investing in a wrestler/character.

For all of you saying of course I’m going to have Yim as my favorite wrestler since I’m Korean, I respond with one, DUH, and two, just how many wrestlers have you seen yourself reflected in over the years?

As Asian Americans, while it is great to see noted Japanese and Chinese wrestlers like Antonio Inoki, Muta, Ultimo Dragon; and more recently Shinsuke Nakamura, Cima, Riho, Asuka, Kairi Sane, and Shirai on US television through the years, it is harder (for me at least) to connect deeply with their characters as our experiences differ.

I doubt many had to be translators for their parents and learn two languages, or navigate their family’s cultural traditions with a different culture entirely, for example. It is also a bit different with Pacific Islander wrestlers like the Anoa’i family, Bronson Reed, or TJP even though Pacific Islanders are usually grouped with Asian Americans.

Born in 1988, my years of being a wrestling fan have also been filled with more cringe than smiles with Asian/Asian American representation. Before the 2000s, I was unaware of any Asian American wrestlers. What I did see were stereotypical and ignorant portrayals of Asian wrestlers. Mr. Fuji, legendary manager and WWE Hall of Famer, spoke with a noticeable “Asian” accent … even though he was born and raised in the US.

While not as egregious as other examples, Yokozuna (a sumo wrestler billed as Japanese) was portrayed by a member of the Samoan Anoa’i family, the late Rodney Anoa’i. As a kid during his run, I didn’t know any better, and it shocked me when I learned he was Samoan while I was reading about his death.

Then, thanks to WCW showcasing lighter, smaller wrestlers in the late 1990s, both WWE (WWF at the time) and WCW signed Japanese wrestlers like Taka Michinoku (and Kai En Tai, who I’ll come back to) and Ultimo Dragon, the latter often accompanied by manager Sonny Ono.

In the 2000s, we had Batista (half-Filipino), Gail Kim, and James Yun. While Batista wasn’t shy about being Filipino (one of his tattoos has a Greece/Philippine Islands flag fusion), he never really represented his wrestling character and self as Filipino.

Kim is Korean Canadian, and her experience straddling being Korean and Canadian and her experiences with racism just aren’t similar enough to those of us in the US. While I cheered her for being Korean, I couldn’t invest deeply.

Yun is different; he’s Korean American like me! Well…

JIMMY. WANG. YANG. I mean, this was the mid to late aughts, a mere 10 to 15 years ago, and they named him the most stereotypical name you could imagine. Now, Yun really is a modern-day cowboy, and incorporating that into his wrestling character was a good idea not only because it was more authentic to him, but because it showed a different portrayal of Asian and Korean Americans.

However, the execution was horrid, and was one of the main reasons I stopped watching wrestling from 2009 until Royal Rumble 2014.

The most recent decade was awesome for Asian American wrestling fans … but I have to jump back to Kai En Tai. The group was in a feud with Val Venis, who’s notorious because his character was a porn star (ah, the 90s).

Enraged that Venis had slept with manager Yamaguchi-san’s wife (in story), they appeared on the entrance ramp after a Venis match, pulled out a big roll of salami (I think), unsheathed a samurai sword wielded by Yamaguchi-san, cut the meat in half, and exclaimed to Venis, “I choppy choppy your pee pee! Ahahahaha!”

The next week, they dragged Venis backstage with the newly turned Michinoku and intimated Yamaguchi-san was going to slice off the penis of Venis with the samurai sword, only for the camera to cut away before anything happened (and Venis somehow avoided losing his penis). I don’t need to explain how utterly enraging and ignorant this entire angle was; most everyone can see the issues.

While Venis escaped with his dignity (more or less), it was hard to have much dignity as an Asian/Asian American even as a child after seeing all this play out.

Back to the most recent decade, and things were much better. I first remember hearing about a wrestler named “Jade” not too long after I returned to wrestling. I watched Impact Wrestling and just seeing an actual Korean American on the screen made me smile. In a surreal, mind-blowing turn, there she was wrestling Gail Kim, unsuccessfully, but ultimately snatching the Knockouts Championship in a triple threat against Kim and Madison Rayne in 2016.

To my knowledge, she was the first Korean American (remember, Kim is Canadian) women’s champion in the major promotions (at the time, WWE, Impact, ROH) and I was elated.

I should note Impact also had TJP, wrestling mostly as masked wrestler Manik, who won multiple titles during his time. When WWE resurrected the Cruiserweight Championship and held their “Cruiserweight Classic,” TJP won and became the first champion.

However, his tenure in WWE was up-and-down, and he was released in 2019. Still, for most of his tenure, TJP proudly displayed the sun and colors of the Filipino flag, representing his heritage and identity, providing representation if even in the most subtle of ways.

There are also other Filipino and Pacific Islander wrestlers in WWE, AEW, MLW, ROH, and Impact, such as Fallah Bahh, Jacob Fatu, Joaquin Wilde, Jeff Cobb, Kona Reeves, Vanessa Borne, Tamina Snuka, Nia Jax, and of course, Roman Reigns and the Usos.

Further, often in discussions about Asia and Asians, many tend to forget about the subcontinent and the Middle East. Most wrestlers with ethnic origins to the region were not born/raised in the US, but two who were are longtime Impact Wrestling great and current WWE producer Sonjay Dutt, and former Cruiserweight Champion Mustafa Ali. (Let’s not even get into the discussion of if Russia is a part of the Asian continent or not.)

Yim competed in the both renditions of the “Mae Young Classic” under the South Korean flag, losing in the second round the first time (to eventual runner-up Shayna Baszler), and in the third round of the second tournament (to eventual winner Toni Storm). The fans chanted, “Please sign Mia!” as she headed up the ramp after her loss to Storm, and Triple H surprised Yim after by telling her she was being signed to NXT. This moment still brings tears to my eyes!

While it was initially a bit rough for Yim, NXT aired a couple of vignettes on Yim’s life, focusing on growing up as a half Black, half Korean kid in California during the early 90s where there was (and still) remains a tension between the Black and Korean communities.

I am not half Black, but I am half Korean and was born in California in 1988, so this hit home with me. She also discussed experiencing a divorce as a youth (I went through two), navigating different cultures (I do that, too!), and being a domestic violence survivor.

Not only was this an emotional connecting point for many Asian/Korean American fans and myself, but non-Asian wrestling fans I talked to about Yim discussed how they finally understood who she is and why she wrestles. Even more positive, Yim, as a survivor of domestic violence, is outspoken on the scourge of domestic and sexual violence. She is not only a realistic and positive portrayal for Korean Americans, but also for survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual abuse.

Since returning from her injury, Yim has defeated Dakota Kai by disqualification (who replaced her in the “War Games” match and turned on the team by attacking Tegan Nox) and scored a quick but competitive victory over Kayden Carter on the Jan. 8, 2020 edition of NXT.

While she was eliminated by new signee Mercedes Martinez (who immediately jumps into title contention) on the Jan. 15, 2020 edition of NXT, her recent run of singles victories places her solidly in the next tier of contenders post-“Worlds Collide.”

I’m not sure what the future holds in store for Yim, but she will continue to by my favorite because she is talented, but also yes, because I see myself reflected in her as a fellow biracial Korean American. Here’s hoping for a wonderful 2020 and beyond for the “HBIC.”