Awesome Kong On Her Role In Women's Wrestling Revolution, New Project Helping Women Of Color
Awesome Kong aka Kharma didn't have a long stint in WWE, but it was still impactful. She was the third female to participate in the Royal Rumble and even eliminated two male Superstars in what could be seen as a precursor to the Women's Revolution.
Kong talked about what she thinks of women's wrestling today and what it meant to see Alison Brie of GLOW and Becky Lynch on the cover of ESPN The Magazine.
"It's uplifting because things like that are like one more step to elevating and bringing more notoriety to women's wrestling and wrestling in general?Things like that make me feel blessed," Kong said when she spoke to Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast.
"When I hear about what the women are doing, I feel proud and I feel I did my part to let that happen."
Kong is also an actress on the GLOW Netflix series and she was asked if any of the non-wrestling cast have become fans of pro wrestling.
"Sometimes the girls come to work and are like, 'Hey did you see such-and-such last night?' They'll then describe a wrestling event or show that they watched and it makes me giggle," admitted Kong. "I'm like, 'Oh my gosh! They're actually following wrestling storylines.' I think it's the cutest and if the show brings more eyeballs to wrestling that maybe never watched before, that's awesome."
Chavo Guerrero serves as a consultant and producer on the show and he also helped train some of the actresses. Kong talked about being able to work with another wrestling mind in Guerrero.
"It's great because we will collaborate and think of things the girls will take to their physical attributes and capacities. It's fun to bounce ideas off Chavo because he's so respected and makes us feel included," said Kong.
She then added that she's always pitching ideas to the producers and writers and she's happy that those in charge "make us feel heard."
As someone who was a child actor before wrestling, and has now returned to acting, Kong has a unique perspective on Hollywood's attitude towards wrestlers. She was asked about how the film and TV industry's attitudes have changed in regards to pro wrestling.
"Before it was like we were in the bowels of the entertainment industry and I think that showing the range that wrestling perfomers have, I think I've opened [some eyes]," Kong said before comparing wrestlers in Hollywood to models in wrestling in that they weren't taken seriously.
"I think people are sitting up and taking notice and actually respecting wrestling performers as performers."
In addition to her work on GLOW, Kong is also a part of the AEW roster and appeared at both Double or Nothing and Fight for the Fallen. She also talked about what else she has coming in the future.
"I'm writing something with my writing partner Alexander. We are putting together some stuff because I took the name Kong which is problematic being that I'm a woman of color. And I said that I would be special one day and that's to make other opportunities for other women of color and that's what I'm working on right now," said Kong.
Kia Stevens (aka Awesome Kong) returns as Tammy "Welfare Queen" Dawson to GLOW for season three. GLOW season three will be released August 9h on Netflix. Her full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of a recent episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post. In it Kong discusses her GLOW fandom as a kid, GLOW's powerful "Mother Of All Matches" episode, getting a bigger "push" in GLOW season two, her AEW future, possible GLOW – AEW crossover, her role in pro wrestling's women's revolution and more.
You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.