Awesome Kong facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Awesome Kong |
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Kong in 2014
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| Birth name | Kia Michelle Stevens |
| Born | September 4, 1977 Carson, California, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Amazing Kong Awesome Kong Kharma Margaret |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Billed weight | 293 lb (133 kg) |
| Billed from | Tokyo, Japan |
| Trained by | Inoki Dojo Noah Denker |
| Debut | October 20, 2002 |
| Retired | August 28, 2021 |
Kia Michelle Stevens (born September 4, 1977) is an American actress and a mostly retired professional wrestler. She is famous for her time in TNA Wrestling using the ring name Awesome Kong. She also wrestled for Ring of Honor (ROH), Shimmer Women Athletes, All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and WWE, where she was known as Kharma.
Stevens started her wrestling career in 2002 after being on a reality TV show. For the first five years, she wrestled mostly in Japan, where she won many championships. In 2006, she returned to the United States. She wrestled on the independent circuit before joining TNA. There, she was a key part of starting their Knockouts division.
While in TNA, she became a two-time TNA Knockouts Champion. She also won the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship with her partner Hamada. Later, she signed with WWE and became the third woman to enter the men's Royal Rumble match.
In 2008, Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine ranked her as the number one female wrestler in the world. Stevens retired from wrestling in 2021 and was added to the TNA Hall of Fame. As an actress, she is known for playing Tammé "The Welfare Queen" Dawson in the Netflix show GLOW.
Contents
- Professional Wrestling Career
- Acting and Other Media
- Championships and Accomplishments
- See also
Professional Wrestling Career
Getting Started
Kia Stevens was inspired to become a wrestler by Lita from WWE. In 2002, she was on a TV show called Discovery Health Body Challenge. She hoped to lose weight and start a wrestling career. After the show, she trained at the School of Hard Knocks in California.
She had her first professional match in the Empire Wrestling Federation. Stevens also tried out for the WWE show Tough Enough 2. She did not make it, but she said the experience motivated her to work harder and succeed.
Success in Japan (2002–2007)
Stevens impressed scouts from the Japanese wrestling company All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW). She was invited to train in their dojo, a special training school. The training was very tough, but she learned to speak Japanese and became a skilled wrestler.
She was given the ring name Amazing Kong. She wrestled for many companies in Japan. In 2004, she defeated Ayako Hamada to win the WWWA World Single Championship. Later, she teamed up with another powerful wrestler, Aja Kong. Their team was called W Kong. They won the AAAW Tag Team Championship and the WWWA World Tag Team Championship.
Wrestling in the United States
Shimmer Women Athletes (2006–2010)
Her success in Japan got her noticed by the American company Shimmer Women Athletes. Starting in 2006, she wrestled for Shimmer and won many matches. She had a long winning streak and challenged Sara Del Rey for the Shimmer Championship.
Kong was known for her power and strength. She had exciting matches against wrestlers like Mercedes Martinez and MsChif. In 2009, she was in a three-way match for the championship but did not win. She was the first woman to be pinned in Shimmer by MsChif, showing how tough she was to beat.
Ring of Honor (2007, 2010)
Because Shimmer worked with Ring of Honor (ROH), Kong also wrestled there. She made her debut in 2007, teaming with Daizee Haze to defeat Sara Del Rey and Lacey.
She returned to ROH in 2010 for more matches against her rival, Sara Del Rey. They had a series of singles and tag team matches. Kong finally defeated Del Rey in a one-on-one match, proving she was one of the best.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)
Knockout Champion (2007–2009)
In 2007, Stevens joined TNA and her ring name was changed to Awesome Kong. She quickly became a dominant force in the new Knockouts division. After several attempts, she defeated Gail Kim to win the TNA Knockouts Championship in January 2008. Her manager was a mysterious woman named Raisha Saeed.
Kong started a challenge where she offered $25,000 to any woman from the audience who could beat her. A wrestler named Taylor Wilde accepted the challenge. On her third try, Wilde defeated Kong to win the championship and the money. Kong won the title back a few months later, becoming a two-time champion. She formed a group called The Kongtourage with Saeed and other wrestlers.
In 2009, Kong began a feud with the group The Beautiful People. They tried to cut her hair, which made fans cheer for Kong. At the Lockdown event, Kong lost her championship to Angelina Love in a cage match.
Knockouts Tag Team Champion (2009–2010)
In late 2009, Kong started teaming with Hamada. They entered a tournament to become the first TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions. Although they didn't win the tournament, they later defeated the champions, Taylor Wilde and Sarita, to win the titles in January 2010.
In early 2010, Stevens had a backstage disagreement and was sent home from a TNA event. She later asked to be released from her contract for personal reasons. TNA announced that Kong and Hamada were stripped of their titles, and Stevens officially left the company in March 2010.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) (2010–2012)
In late 2010, Stevens signed with WWE. Scary videos began to air on TV showing her destroying dolls. Her new ring name was revealed to be Kharma. She debuted at the Extreme Rules event in May 2011, attacking Michelle McCool. For weeks, she attacked other female wrestlers on Raw and SmackDown.
A few weeks later, Kharma appeared in the ring and began to cry. She announced that she had to take a break from WWE for personal reasons.
Kharma made a surprise return at the 2012 Royal Rumble. She became the third woman ever to compete in the men's Royal Rumble match. She eliminated one wrestler before being eliminated herself. This was her only official match in WWE. She was released from her contract in July 2012.
Return to TNA (2015–2016)
Awesome Kong made a surprise return to TNA in January 2015. She had a feud with another powerful wrestler named Havok, which ended in a steel cage match that Kong won. She challenged for the Knockouts Championship but was unsuccessful.
Later, she teamed up with Gail Kim to fight a group called The Dollhouse. In 2016, she became the new leader of The Dollhouse. However, she was released from TNA in February 2016 after a backstage disagreement. She returned for one night in October 2016 to help induct Gail Kim into the TNA Hall of Fame.
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Retirement
In May 2019, Awesome Kong made a surprise debut at All Elite Wrestling's first event, Double or Nothing. She formed an alliance with Brandi Rhodes called The Nightmare Collective. The group was not popular with fans, and the storyline was dropped in early 2020. Stevens left AEW in June 2021.
On August 28, 2021, at the NWA EmPowerrr event, Stevens announced her retirement from wrestling. In October 2021, she was inducted into the Impact Hall of Fame.
Acting and Other Media
Stevens is a talented actress. She is best known for her role as Tammé "The Welfare Queen" Dawson in the Netflix series GLOW. The show is about a women's wrestling league from the 1980s. She also appeared in a Katy Perry music video and was a playable character in the WWE '12 and WWE '13 video games.
Championships and Accomplishments
- All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling
- WWWA World Single Championship (1 time)
- WWWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Aja Kong
- Japan Grand Prix (2003)
- AWA Superstars of Wrestling
- AWA World Women's Championship (1 time)
- The Baltimore Sun
- Woman of the Year (2008)
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Women's Wrestling (Active) Award (2011)
- ChickFight
- ChickFight IX
- Gaea Japan
- AAAW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Aja Kong
- Hustle
- Hustle Super Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Erika
- National Wrestling Alliance
- NWA World Women's Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 1 of the top 50 female wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2008
- PWI Woman of the Year (2008)
- Resistance Pro Wrestling
- RPW Women's Championship (1 time)
- TNA Wrestling
- TNA Knockouts Championship (2 times)
- TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Hamada
- Queen of the Knockouts (2015)
- TNA Hall of Fame (2021)
See also
In Spanish: Awesome Kong (luchadora) para niños
