Veteran wrestling star Awesome Kong has announced her retirement from pro wrestling during a surprise appearance at NWA EmPowerrr. TNA Hall Of Famer Gail Kim made an unannounced appearance during the all-women PPV. She tried to cut a promo but Kim was confronted by Taryn Terrell, Jennacide, and Paola Blaze.
Kong, who has had several feuds with the veteran TNA star over the years then also made a surprise appearance on the show. She made the save for Gail Kim and took out the three interrupting women.
After this segment, the former WWE star grabbed a mic and told Kim that she was her greatest foe. The former Knockouts champion claimed that there was no other way to end her career than being in the ring with Gail Kim. She then announced her retirement saying she was done:
The 43-year-old started her wrestling career in 2002. Awesome Kong went on to wrestle for promotions such as Ring Of Honor, All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling, and more. Though she is probably best known for her stints in Impact Wrestling and WWE between 2007 to 2016.
She competed under the ring name Kharma in WWE but didn’t win any titles. She had a couple of runs with the Knockouts title in TNA under the ring name Awesome Kong. She also made several appearances for AEW in the past couple of years.
Both Shanna and Awesome Kong’s bios were removed from AEW’s roster page over the weekend. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, both wrestlers’ contracts expired recently and were not renewed by AEW.
43-year-old Awesome Kong (Kia Stevens) has not wrestled since January 2020. In total, she only wrestled 5x with AEW. Kong’s 1st match with AEW was a fatal 4-way won by Britt Baker at Double or Nothing 2019. Her second match was in the Casino Battle Royale at All Out 2019. Kong then wracked up 3 straight singles victories while being managed by Brandi Rhodes but would be removed from television shortly after.
In February 2020, Brandi Rhodes explained Kong’s absence and how it played into the formation of the short-lived Nightmare Collective.
“Awesome Kong was not physically feeling great. And she’s my friend so I would never want to ask somebody to work in a capacity where I know they’re going to hurt themselves so what then happened was more of a greater group discussion of ‘okay well what do we do here’ and the Nightmare Collective came to be,” Rhodes said on Wrestling Observer Live in February of 2020.
As for Shanna, the 38-year-old last appeared on Dynamite in a loss to Britt Baker in January. She had been performing on episodes of AEW Dark and Elevation. Shanna dropped her last match in AEW to Leyla Hirsch on April 7th (aired April 12th).
Kia Stevens, aka Awesome Kong, plays the role of Tammé Dawson on the Netflix series GLOW. The show was canceled due to the pandemic but efforts are underway to possibly end the series with a movie.
According to a recent Instagram post by Stevens, the show does not have any writers who are persons of color. She also stated the show has been irresponsible with how they have portrayed storylines related to racial stereotypes.
“It has been problematic to use our faces, oftentimes solely in the context of a racist storyline, and to be brief with our story development to serve the in-depth white storylines,” she wrote.
Stevens continued to mention that there are no persons of color on the show’s writing team.
“With zero persons of color in the writer’s room this season, it’s a huge oversight to be writing our narratives without anyone else to represent us besides ourselves,” she continued.
She also pointed out that a central theme of the show is performers from the original GLOW dealing with portraying characters who are racial stereotypes. She noted that the same thing is happening again with actors on the Netflix series.
Kia Stevens Statement On GLOW
“The meta-narrative of our show — actors dealing with the conflict of perpetuating stereotypes in order to have opportunity — is exactly what is happening in our real life.”
“We can no longer be quiet about the pain this has caused and the harm it has done in perpetuating the representation of people of color as sidekicks to elevate white leads.”
Stevens concludes her statement with a call for showrunners to hire an executive producer who is a person of color. They also would like the show to address how portraying racial stereotypes has impacted the performers and amplify their voices and characters in Season 4.
Stevens’ comments seem to imply some version of the show will be returning for a new season or a movie. This cannot be confirmed, however. It was also revealed recently that Taya Valkyrie was cast in season 4. At least one episode had been filmed before the pandemic shut down production. The series was always scheduled to end following the 4th season as well.
Kong returned to the wrestling world last year with AEW. She was briefly a member of Brandi Rhodes’ Nightmare family before the angle was scrapped.
A former WWE backstage producer was recently arrested in Vanderburgh County, Indiana. According to a report from PW Insider, Sarah Stock was arrested early Sunday morning and charged with aggravated battery, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and resisting law enforcement.
She was booked and released early Sunday morning by the Vandenburgh Sheriff’s Department.
Stock had been with WWE since 2015 but was furloughed this spring and later released due to the ongoing global pandemic. She wrestled as Sarita in TNA Wrestling from 2009 to 2013. She has also competed for companies such as Shimmer as well as CMLL in Mexico. Stock had previously wrestled under the names Dark Angel and Canadian Dark Angel as well.
While in TNA, Stock won the promotion’s women’s tag-team championships twice. She won the inaugural titles in 2009 with Taylor Wilde. They would hold the belts for 106 days before dropping them to Awesome Kong and Hamada.
Stock would team with Zelina Vega in 2011 and again win the belts. This time her team defeated Angelina Love and Winter to gain the championships. They would hold the titles for 129 days until dropping them to Brooke Tessmacher and Tara. Her 2 reigns and 227 combined days spent with 1/2 of the women’s tag belts ranks her 5th all-time in the promotion.
Awesome Kong’s days as an active competitor for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) might be over.
AEW has provided an update on Kong’s ‘medical condition’ following an attack from her Nightmare Collective cohorts, Mel and Luther. This attack took place during this week’s episode of AEW: Dark, which is available to watch on their YouTube channel.
Taking to Twitter, AEW says Awesome Kong sustained ‘serious injuries.’ Additionally, they are unsure when she will be cleared to wrestle again, if ever.
Awesome Kong Medical Update: on this week’s episode of #AEWDark Kong suffered serious injuries at the hands of Mel & Luther. We do not know when or if she will return to action. pic.twitter.com/3lELXkbrOK
The incident took place after Mel’s loss to Hikaru Shida. Kong confronted Mel over the loss only to be attacked. She was held in place by Luther as Mel assaulted her. She was then sent through a barrier, with the attack continuing until Mel delivered a leg drop onto her on the steel steps.
It is speculated that AEW has done this angle in order to write Awesome Kong off of television so she can film the final season of Netflix’s pro wrestling drama series, GLOW. It’s worth noting that, although this is the currently believed reason, it has yet to be confirmed.
AEW’s next pay-per-view, Revolution, takes place on February 29, 2020, from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) talent, and star of hit Netflix show GLOW, Awesome Kong was a recent guest on Women’s Wrestling Weekly. During her appearance, Kong opened up about how she came to be a part of AEW. She discussed her surprise debut at Double or Nothing as well as how she got back into ring shape.
She credited her agent in helping her become a part of AEW, explaining that he was the first one to tell her about it as she hadn’t been immersed in the world of pro wrestling for some time.
“I didn’t know anything about it because I hadn’t been immersed in it, the wrestling world, so I was doing StarrCast/Starrcade… and they said everyone is going to the show [All In] and I was thinking that it was just some random indie show…I get there and they are at the Sears Center and the production value is out of this world,” Kong said. “I’m like, ‘Wait… I need to be a part of this next time, someone needs to ask me next time’ …and they did, I’m glad they did, backstage the harmony is there, people are working, people are getting paid, people are getting medical… People are happy and people want to come in and work hard.”
Double Or Nothing
Kong noted that only three people knew about her surprise appearance at Double or Nothing. She recounted how she had to be snuck into the airport wearing sunglasses to try and disguise herself.
“We got in, we did the deal. I was nervous and I hadn’t put on the Kong gear in for eons…I hadn’t summoned her.. She’s a real person, Kong is real, hadn’t summoned her in a while. I was in the bathroom… it was a whole process.”
Coming back to in-ring action required her to train in order to channel Awesome Kong once again. She explained how she “hyped up” her cardio and avoided training in a ring. Kong believed people would easily figure out she was preparing for a wrestling return if she had.
Season 3 of Netflix’s hit-series “GLOW” was released today. AEW’s Awesome Kong (Kia Stevens) stars in the show as Tamme “The Welfare Queen” Dawson. She spoke to the Miami Herald recently about the upcoming season.
“There’s something in it for everyone,” Kong said. “It makes people appreciate wrestling, even those who never really enjoyed wrestling before.”
GLOW fans, you've hit the jackpot. All episodes of Season 3 are now streaming, only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/Pq3LQ6eaSI
She also noted that she gets recognized more for her work on GLOW than she does from pro-wrestling.
“When I leave my house, more people recognize me,” she said. “Not so much when I have my wrestling braids in, no, but when my hair is regular, they’re like, ‘Oh, wow, you’re on GLOW. This one girl recognized me. All her friends talked to me, but she was too afraid. I thought that was the sweetest thing.”
Kong also noted that she was a fan of the original Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling promotion as well.
“I loved the original GLOW. I actually asked Santa Claus to make me a GLOW girl, when I was little,” she continued. “I watched it every Saturday with my little brother, and we would root for Hollywood & Vine to lose. We thought they were the most evil tag team on earth, and we would love to hate them. We hated them so much.”
Kong also played a role in helping to train the other women working on the show:
“I did, which was a big pleasure,” Kong said. “They gave me carte blanche on the big wrestling scene with Liberty Belle [ Betty Gilpin], which was awesome. Her finishing move came in a dream… I was happy with it.”
The full interview with the Miami Herald can be read here.
Kia Michelle Stevens is known both for her portrayal of Awesome Kong in pro-wrestling and as Tammé Dawson on the Netflix series GLOW. She spoke to USA Today recently about balancing her roles for both GLOW and AEW.
She was asked about going back to the Awesome Kong character in May when she debuted for AEW at Double or Nothing.
“It was strange to slip back into her skin and psyche because Kong is a totally different psyche from Kia,” she said. “And I seriously was in my room the night before, praying on it that she would appear and that I would remember everything about her psyche to get to that place.”
“The reception was so breathtaking that my knees almost buckled,” Stevens said. “I almost didn’t make it to that ring because my legs turned to jelly. I love wrestling fans for that.”
The upcoming season of GLOW will premiere on August 9th, 2019 on Netflix. One of the themes present in the show this season is said to be the wear-and-tear that pro-wrestlers endure.
“I thought they were spot-on, especially because I actually struggle with back injuries,” said Stevens. “So, when I read through my script it was (like it was) straight out of my diary.”
Stevens also commented on the state of women’s wrestlling.
“It’s a long time coming,” she said. “I’m just really happy that women are finally being seen as athletes and people who can compete, can perform at the caliber of the men and are given the opportunity to be performers and not like a sideshow. So I’m glad that I feel like I had a little bit to do with that. I’m glad I’ve been able to do my part.”
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”
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.”
Awesome Kong has not always liked her ring name and has decided to talk about it.
Kong, also known as Kia Stevens, has made a transition from wrestling to an actress as she is featured on the Netflix series “GLOW.” In a recent interview with The Ringer, Kong reflected on why she didn’t like her ring name at first.
She noted that once she went to Japan, picking her name wasn’t an option as she was training in Santa Monica at the New Japan dojo where Shinsuke Nakamura and other people called her Kong. “I didn’t know if he was just unaware of the connotation that Kong would have for a black person, because he was from Japan, but I got really upset. Then they had to explain to me that they’d recently had a press conference, and that the company that was bringing me over had named me Kong.”
She would go onto say that she went home and considered what she got herself into and if she should go back. She thought about the meaning of N.W.A once she heard a song by the rap group.
This is when she decided that she would make the name her own that way when someone hears it they know what it’s all about. “Anyone who sees Amazing or Awesome Kong respects that name first. I feel that that’s a goal that my people should always work towards, not a meaning of ridicule or put-down, but always respect. I owned it, and I own it today.”
Staying with her time in Japan, she mentioned how working in front of those crowds made her seem extremely serious as they take pro wrestling serious.
She pointed out how they report wrestling in the newspapers as if they were reporting on baseball and really buy into the magic of wrestling. “There were people who, when they found out I was a wrestler, they didn’t know anything about wrestling. So when they heard my name, they were like, ‘Oh my god, girl, why would you let them name you that?’ Then I had to explain it to them—that if you’re a fan of wrestling and you hear the name Amazing or Awesome Kong, you sit up straighter.”
Former WWE Superstar Awesome Kong recently did an interview with Bleacher Report to promote the debut of the original Netflix series GLOW, which premiers tomorrow (Fri. June 23, 2017). Kong talked about her discussions with Triple H regarding a big championship program, her dream match in WWE, and her recent transition to acting. Here’s what she had to say:
Conversations with Triple H regarding a possible title run and building a program around her title reign:
“I can only speculate, but I would think Kharma had a 99.9 percent chance of a title run and then my hope was to bring in a new girl and make a super face who is going to topple Kharma. That was my goal and that was something Triple H and I talked about bringing in a girl for a program and making her a super face and us all making money. We never talked about who that would’ve been, we didn’t get that far. I left during my honeymoon with the company.”
Her dream match in WWE:
“Beth Phoenix and I never happened. The fans have seen Gail [Kim] and me, and I would always love to face Gail again to bookend our story. The fans would really love to see Beth and I dance in the ring and that never happened. I feel like the fans were cheated out of that so I would love to do that for the fans and for myself.”
Transitioning to a career in acting:
“I absolutely want an acting career. I think I’ve done what I’ve done in wrestling. I appreciate what I’ve done in wrestling, but telling the story that we’ve told in GLOW and having the experience I’ve had with the people I’ve had it with leaves me wanting more. Like I said before, this is what I wanted when I got into wrestling, this is what I got into wrestling to do.”
You can check out Kong’s full interview with Bleacher Report by clicking this link here.
Following a physical altercation with Matt Hardy’s wife Reby Hardy (real name Rebecca Hardy) prior to last Friday’s Impact Wrestling taping at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, United Kingdom, Awesome Kong (real name Kia Stevens) has parted ways with TNA.
Following a physical altercation in the locker room last week during IMPACT WRESTLING’s UK Tour, TNA announces today the release of Awesome Kong (Kia Stevens).
“We conducted an investigation and determined releasing Awesome Kong is the appropriate action in this case,” said TNA Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Television John Gaburick. “Kong has been a great contributor to TNA and helped solidify the Knockouts as the best female division in professional wrestling. We thank her and wish her well.”
Kong addressed her departure from TNA via Twitter, stating, “My time this round in TNA was fun. Time for me to move on to other things. #Released #HeadHeldHigh.”
My time this round in TNA was fun. Time for me to move on to other things. #Released#HeadHeldHigh
It was reported Wednesday in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the altercation stemmed from bad blood the two had dating back to 2013.
Both women were assigned to the same locker room at the event after changing in separate rooms at shows they both worked. Kong got upset with Hardy and threw her belongings outside of the room. This led to a profanity-laced argument between the two, with Hardy saying she won’t be bullied and for Kong to “f*** off.”
This infuriated Kong, who allegedly attacked Hardy. She drove her into a concrete wall and began choking her in front of her son, who was only a few feet away.
The altercation was broken up by security personnel and producer Pat Kenney. There were reports that Hardy had visible marks on her neck.
Jim Ross has posted his latest blog entry at JRsBarBQ.com covering some of the biggest stories in the pro wrestling world. As always, he gives his thoughts from his unique perspective as a wrestling announcer and executive with decades of experience. Here are some of the more notable comments from Ross this time out:
On Shinsuke Nakamura and discussions of whether or not WWE will change his name:
I have no issues with WWE changing Shinsuke Nakamura’s ring name if they choose. WWE should own the talent’s names and/or have the legal rights to protect their intellectual property in the show biz world of pro wrestling. It’s sound business and won’t adversely affect how Nakamura gets over with the fans. In the eyes of many, mine too, Nakamura is one of the most gifted talents in the world and brings as much natural charisma to his presentation as any one in the business today.
On Awesome Kong being sent home from TNA’s UK tour due to an incident with Reby Sky:
Sorry to see one of my favorite female grapplers, Awesome Kong, involved in controversy in the UK that saw TNA send Kong home from the tour there. I don’t know the complete story but It’s regrettable nonetheless. Kong has the ability to help any company IMO. Let’s hope that this matter is addressed and all parties can move positively forward. One has to ask if TNA knew that there were lingering issues between the two ladies in question here why didn’t they address such and attempt to clear the air if they didn’t?
On the fans dressed up as past stars at Raw:
Don’t understand why WWE is allegedly not pleased that some fans dressed up as WWE stars no a recent RAW which saw @TheRock interact with them. I thought it was entertaining.
And of course, he extends some well-wishes to Bret Hart:
Best wishes to @BretHart on his upcoming battle with Prostate Cancer. I’d lay my money on The Hitman to kick Cancer’s ass.
The full blog post includes thoughts on Braun Strowman, some vague notes on a meeting Ross has this weekend, NXT vs. Raw, and more.
Fans can expect to see Matt Hardy’s wife Reby (a/k/a Reby Sky and Reby Hardy) on Impact Wrestling on a regular basis going forward as she has signed a contract with TNA Wrestling, Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com reports.
As has been reported, there was an incident between Reby and Awesome Kong on Friday prior to an Impact Wrestling taping at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, United Kingdom. To add to the multiple versions of the story going around, Johnson says Kong did indeed get physical with Reby. Various TNA performers at the show told Johnson she was could see marks around her throat and around the back of her neck if she lifted her hair.
Sky alluded to the incident Friday night on Twitter, stating, “No time for high school drama. I REFUSE to play this bullying game. FOH…”
Prior to the Impact Wrestling TV taping at the Manchester Arena, Kia Stevens was involved in an incident involving Rebecca Hardy. Subsequently, Kia was removed from the tour and returned to the United States. The matter is being reviewed to determine if any additional disciplinary action will be taken.
John Gaburick, Executive Vice President of TNA Wrestling, issued a statement Saturday on his Twitter account regarding an incident that took place Friday at the Manchester Arena involving Awesome Kong (Kia Stevens) and Reby Sky (Rebecca Hardy).
Prior to the Impact Wrestling TV taping at the Manchester Arena, Kia Stevens was involved in an incident involving Rebecca Hardy. Subsequently, Kia was removed from the tour and returned to the United States. The matter is being reviewed to determine if any additional disciplinary action will be taken.
The incident was originally reported by Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, who said that Kong took issue with Sky attempting to dress in the women’s locker room and tossed her bag into the hallway. Although Sky is a performer for the company, she had not changed in the women’s locker room before.
Kong’s actions prompted Sky to leave the locker room. When she returned to retrieve her things, Kong went after her for “not apologizing.”
There are two stories on the incident circulating among TNA workers. One story is that Kong attempted to assault Sky, but was quickly restrained from doing so. The second story, which Johnson heard from ‘far’ more people, is that Kong throttled Sky around the neck before being restrained by security guards and producer Pat Kenney.
Johnson added that Sky’s infant son was in the vicinity of the ordeal.
Awesome Kong was sent home Friday from TNA’s tour of the United Kingdom following a backstage altercation with Matt Hardy’s wife Reby Sky at the Manchester Arena, Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com reports.
Multiple TNA sources tell Johnson that Kong took issue with Sky attempting to dress in the women’s locker room and threw her belongings outside. Although Sky is a performer for the company, she had not changed in the women’s locker room before. At TNA’s recent television events in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Sky dressed elsewhere backstage.
During an uncensored interview with the YouShoot DVD series, Kong referred to Sky as a ‘ho’ for her outspoken nature. When asked on ASKfm (a social networking site where users create profiles and can send each other questions) about Kong knocking her, Sky responded, “Not aware of this, if it is true. Doesn’t make much sense, as I don’t know her on a really personal level & we have been nothing but nice to each other in passing at shows. We’ve actually texted back & forth a few times, so if she now has a problem with me, I can only attribute it to one thing/person. Fake as fuck to be nice to my face & talk shit to a camera if its true, but no shocker there. That’s 99% of the women in this business anyway. Next.”
Sky later implied Kong as a drug addict, stating on ASKfm, “Broke wrestlers doing “shoot” interviews for a couple hundred bucks to support their drug habits can KEEP mentioning me. Everyone knows I’m in an AMAZING committed relationship & love a good name drop :).”
After a fan asked Sky on the site if she was referring to Kong in her statement, she remarked, “And for the record, yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying, and for damn good reason. No use in continuing to play nice or protect anyone who is sweet to my face & a cunt to me & my close friends behind my back.”
According to Johnson, Sky left the locker room after Kong threw her belongings outside. When she returned near the room to retrieve her things, Kong went after her for “not apologizing.” Johnson believes Sky’s past remarks are what led to Kong’s outburst and demand for an apology.
There are two stories on the incident circulating among TNA workers. One story is that Kong attempted to assault Sky, but was quickly restrained from doing so. The second story, which Johnson heard from ‘far’ more people, is that Kong throttled Sky around the neck before being restrained by security guards and producer Pat Kenney.
Johnson added that Sky’s infant son was in the vicinity of the ordeal.
Kong parted ways with TNA in 2010 after assaulting Bubba the Love Sponge backstage at a television event for remarks he made on Twitter that were disparaging of Haiti’s struggle to recover from a recent earthquake (he was appearing as a backstage interviewer for the company at the time through his connection to then-talent Hulk Hogan).
Awesome Kong has announced her retirement from professional wrestling, according to a statement she issued to Battle-News.com. She was to compete at Japan’s Korakuen Hall on 11/25 but pulled out due to health issues. Here’s the [translated] statement:
TNA has announced the first official match for this year’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view.
In Knockouts action, Awesome Kong and Gail Kim will go one-on-one for the Knockouts Championship at the October 4th pay-per-view event in North Carolina.
TNA’s Dave Lagana and Kim tweeted the following:
Just announced for #BoundForGlory in Charlotte on October 4.
There were two more title changes at the TNA Impact Wrestling television tapings in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday night.
After losing the TNA Tag-Team Championships to “Team GFW’s” Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins) and Trevor Lee at the tapings on Tuesday night, The Wolves won back the gold on Wednesday night. This marks the fifth TNA Tag-Title reign for Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards.
Another title change at the taping last night saw Gail Kim beat Brooke Tessmacher, Awesome Kong and Lei’D Tapa in a four-way match to become the new TNA Knockouts Champion. This is Kim’s fifth reign as Knockouts Champion.
Following Sunday night’s TNA Slammiversary, below is the updated lineup for this coming Wednesday night’s special “Bell 2 Bell” edition of TNA Impact Wrestling on Destination America.
TNA World Heavyweight Title
– Ethan Carter III vs. Kurt Angle
TNA Knockouts Title
– Awesome Kong vs. Brooke Tessmacher vs. Taryn Terrell
TNA Tag Team Titles 30-Minute Iron Man Match
– Austin Aries and Bobby Roode vs. The Wolves
Losers Must Disband
– The Beat Down Clan vs. The Rising
Awesome Kong has posted a reaction to the reports that her TNA contract has expired.
As reported earlier, a slew of TNA stars have been granted releases from their contracts. Many of the men and women who are no longer under contract with TNA will still continue working for the promotion on a limited basis, but will now be able to take outside bookings as a result of TNA running fewer and fewer shows.
While we don’t have specifics regarding Kong’s contract with TNA, she wrote:
Contrary to rumors, @IMPACTWRESTLING and I will ring in the new year together & I'll 'deck the halls' of anyone who says otherwise #staying
It looks like TNA’s roster is getting lighter as each day passes.
On Saturday, we reported that James Storm and Magnus asked — and received — their releases from TNA Wrestling. Additionally, Austin Aries, whose TNA contract recently expired, has also finished up with the promotion.
The latest TNA departures come from the Knockouts division, as both Awesome Kong and Taryn Terrell have also finished up with TNA.
Kong and Terrell’s contracts expired as of this weekend.
Following Wednesday night’s edition of TNA Impact Wrestling, new matches, and new participants for existing matches, were announced for this Sunday’s TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view at the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida.
Below is the latest look at the official lineup for this Sunday’s pay-per-view event.
King of the Mountain
– Jeff Jarrett vs. TBA
Handicap Match
– Awesome Kong & Brooke Tessmacher vs. Jade, Marti & Taryn Terrell
Unsanctioned Match
– James Storm vs. Magnus
Winner Chooses Stipulation For Impact Tag Title Match
– Austin Aries vs. Davey Richards
– Ethan Carter III & Tyrus vs. Bobby Lashley & Mr. Anderson
– Robbie E vs. Jessie Godderz
– Matt Morgan vs. Bram
Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com on Sunday, 28, 2015 for the best TNA Slammiversary 2015 live PPV results coverage on the web!
Despite previous reports to the contrary, the rumored TNA Heavyweight Championship match between Kurt Angle and Ethan Carter III will not be happening at the upcoming TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view on June 28th.
Instead, the Angle-EC3 match is booked for the July 1st edition of Impact Wrestling and the contract signing for the bout will take place on this coming Wednesday’s episode. The match is currently scheduled to be taped at the Impact Wrestling tapings later this month, which is actually before the Slammiversary pay-per-view.
Speaking of TNA Slammiversary, while there is only one official match at this point — Magnus vs. James Storm — other matches rumored for the show include The Wolves vs. The Dirty Heels for the TNA Tag-Team Titles, Low Ki vs. Grado vs. Tigre Uno for the vacant TNA X-Division Title and Brooke vs. Awesome Kong vs. Taryn Terrell for the TNA Knockouts Title.