Life after wrestling can be a tough transition for those looking to find new career paths or beneficial hobbies. The TNA Knockouts division has been home to many talented superstars throughout the years. Quite a few have been able to find more success away from the squared circle, when either leaving the wrestling industry or adding another interest to their lifestyle.
TNA wasn’t known for having the best long-term career paths for wrestlers wanting to make a great living with one promotion for decades. Women in wrestling also unfortunately have the pressure of making career decisions about their future earlier than male wrestlers. Find out which names were able to find success outside of wrestling after their time in the TNA Knockouts division.
7 Taryn Terrell
TNA found huge success with Taryn Terrell becoming a breakout star in the Knockouts division. The former WWE run as Tiffany was forgettable, but she improved immensely to help TNA add more depth to the women on the roster.
Terrell’s feud with Gail Kim delivered some of the most memorable matches in company history. The time away from wrestling has seen Taryn going deeper into her stunt career. Various top movies and shows hire Terrell to take stunts in scenes with danger. One standout role came in Will Ferrell’s Daddy's Home that required her getting hit in the face with a basketball.
6 ODB
The gimmick of ODB led to fans enjoying her work in the early stages of the original Knockouts division. Every woman at the start had a different gimmick to stand out, with ODB becoming one of the most over ladies on the entire roster.
The on again/off again relationship with TNA throughout the years has ODB still making the occasional appearance, but she has found success away from the ring. ODB has succeeded with a food truck business called ODB’s Meat & Greet. A fire would see her raising funds to rebuild, but the market is there for her to continue thriving when back at it.
5 Roxxi Laveaux
TNA found success with Roxxi Laveaux in a unique storyline that came from losing her hair as part of a match stipulation. The Beautiful People received huge heel heat for mocking Roxxi losing her hair, but that added to her fan support.
Laveaux found success as a face character until the company just stopped booking her as a relevant wrestler and instead made her the manager of the New Age Outlaws. The departure from TNA saw Roxxi changing her career path to the fitness world. Laveaux currently works as a women’s transformation coach, helping those wanting to make a change in their lifestyle for better health.
4 Taylor Wilde
The push of Taylor Wilde in TNA saw her finding strong success as an underdog character. Wilde was the unexpected woman to answer Awesome Kong’s open challenge and defeat her to become the Knockouts Champion in shocking fashion.
There were well-documented stories of TNA paying Wilde poorly, to the point where she had to work at a mall kiosk to pay her bills despite wrestling on national television on a weekly basis. Wilde left wrestling for years to become a successful firefighter as a new career path. She made a recent return to Impact Wrestling, working under the same name.
3 SoCal Val
The early years of TNA would see SoCal Val getting hired as one of the first full-time employed female talents. Val wasn’t a wrestler, but she held just about every job title in the company. Most fans will remember Val for either her love triangle storyline with Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt, or as a ring girl with the occasional character moment.
TNA utilized Val in many of their photo shoots and hosting duties for the rest of her run. Life after wrestling has seen Val working in the fashion world with success as a blogger, influencer and trendsetter. The GAW TV podcast with Val, Mickie James and Victoria does keep her involved in wrestling circles.
2 Brooke Adams
WWE dropped the ball with Brooke Adams when having her only take part in the Extreme Expose faction for the ECW brand before her release. Adams never really had the chance to develop an identity as a wrestler or personality in WWE.
TNA would see Brooke progress at a fast pace and the company even trusted her to defeat Gail Kim for the Knockouts Championship. Adams had a strong run in TNA before leaving to move on to new things outside of wrestling. Real estate is the current business of Brooke, with social media comments from her about it being a huge success.
1 Awesome Kong
The epic rivalry between Awesome Kong and Gail Kim put the TNA Knockouts division on the map in a major way. Kong was the perfect monster heel, with the character making her an instant star for TNA. Unfortunately, life's ups and downs would see her in and out of the company a few times.
Kong’s recent departure led to her looking to get into acting. The Netflix series GLOW provided the perfect start as the only lead actress on the show with real wrestling experience. Kong was one of the top parts of the hit show and even had an episode dedicated to her character in the most recent season.