IMPACT legend Awesome Kong was present at the latest set of TV tapings, where she was inducted into the company's Hall Of Fame.
The former Knockouts Champion was inducted during the Knockouts Knockdown on September 17 and dedicated her induction to her former IMPACT colleague Shannon Spruill (Daffney), who tragically passed away at the age of 46 earlier this month.
Kong announced her retirement from professional wrestling last month at EmPowerrr, the all-female pay-per-view produced by Mickie James in conjunction with Billy Corgan's NWA.
During the event, Kong's fellow legend and former IMPACT colleague Gail Kim addressed the crowd and commemorated the occasion. Kim was interrupted by Taryn Terrell, Jennacide, and Paola Blaze, who attempted to intimidate the former WWE Women's Champion ... until Awesome Kong made the save. "Only one thing could get me off my couch eating delicious ice cream bars," Kong said to Gail, before telling her that she loved her. The soon-to-be IMPACT Hall Of Famer then stunned the crowd by revealing that she would be retiring from professional wrestling with immediate effect.
As a wrestler, Awesome Kong (real name, Kia Stevens) is best known for her time in IMPACT where she was a two-time TNA Knockouts Champion and a former TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion. She left IMPACT in 2010 and joined WWE where she performed under the name Kharma. Kharma made her debut on May 1 at Extreme Rules, where she attacked Michelle McCool. She continued to attack former WWE Divas Champions on both Raw and SmackDown in the weeks that followed, but her angle was axed when she revealed that she was pregnant.
Stevens took a hiatus from wrestling to pursue an acting career which saw her cast as Tammé "The Welfare Queen" Dawson in the Netflix original comedy series GLOW.
While GLOW was still on the air, Stevens debuted for AEW as a surprise entrant in the women's triple threat match at AEW's inaugural Double or Nothing event, making it a Fatal 4-way match. Afterward, she was paired with Brandi Rhodes and the duo formed a stable known as The Nightmare Collective. The angle was poorly received and AEW pulled the plug on it soon after it began.
Awesome Kong's influence on women's wrestling cannot be understated and there can be no doubt that she and Gail Kim paved the way for what would later become known as the "Women's Revolution."
Kong joins the likes of Gail Kim, Kurt Angle, Ken Shamrock, and Earl Hebner in the IMPACT Wrestling Hall Of Fame.