Awesome Kong Recalls Jim Ross Telling Her She Didn’t Fit The ‘Diva’ Mold In WWE

Awesome Kong recently spoke at Netflix’s Scene Stealers panel to promote GLOW where she also discussed her wrestling career, her time in Japan, and more. While on the topic of what fueled her fire for wrestling and how she found herself wrestling in Japan, Kong said that it was during her time in Tough Enough when former WWE commentator Jim Ross told her that she wouldn’t make it due to her size.

“I went to on a show called Tough Enough and it was for a WWE contract and Jim Ross who’s an announcer there told me I would never make it in wrestling because of my size and so that gave me the fire to be like, ‘watch this.’

So a friend of mine got me on a show Discovery Health Body Challenge, a weight loss show from 10 years ago on Discovery Health. They actually introduced me to a dojo from Los Angeles where Chyna was training. She did a surprise segment for me and that dojo invited me to go to Japan. I only planned to go there for two weeks and that turned into like, six years.”

This statement from Kong garnered response from netizens who didn’t like Jim Ross’ comment on Kong’s size. JR clarified this on his Twitter and said that he believed Kong wouldn’t make it in the Diva Search because she was not “Diva material”, and that he never doubted Kong’s ability to become a wrestler.

Ross wrote, “I never said Kia wouldn’t make it as a wrestler.

This was at the Diva Search and I was honest that at that time she was unlikely “Diva Material.”

I love her work. Listen to #DoubleOrNothing @AEWrestling”