Awesome Kong's Dark Side of the Ring Appearance

If the summer wasn’t already looking good for me, seeing one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, Awesome Kong make a rare appearance on the latest season of Dark side of the Ring just made the summer go into the stratosphere!!

This season of Dark Side of the Ring was kicked off with the sorry of Jeff Jarrett and the battle of TNA. 

In this three part story, one of the original and main event staples of the Knockouts division Awesome Kong was involved in telling her story. 

Of what brought her to TNA, how she initially viewed Dixie Carter favorably with her spot in TNA and how that joy for a woman in that high ranking position in a wrestling company shifted as Dixie vied for more respect and power within the company. Also how wage discrimination was a real and hurtful aspect of the last years of Awesome Kong’s time in the company. 

Let’s break down the major topics that were touched upon in these insightful episodes: 

The founding of the Knockouts division

I love how Dark side of the Ring highlighted the very important acquisition that TNA got when they hired Awesome Kong in the mid ’00s. Let’s put this time into perspective. This is when Awesome Kong just came off her amazing run in Japan and was seen as the monster heel that would tear across the entire Knockouts division. And her first target was Gail Kim. Awesome Kong made sure that she talked fondly about how it amazing it was to be in TNA as her and other the women were making history in the company with having such a stacked roster like that. With real storylines, feuds and main event opportunities on Spike TV at a time when women in WWE were still having bikini contests. I love the passion, intention and faith that the women of the original Knockout roster has always said that Jeff Jarrett had for the women of the company. How it was a slow, but effective buildup to create a division that can never be replicated again. It was lighting in a bottle. With legendary wrestlers like Kong. This is something that is often glossed over in main stream media when speaking about the evolution of American women’s wrestling. When that evolution happened in 2007 in TNA. Not in 2015 in WWE because of total divas. 

How Awesome Kong viewed Dixie Carter as a top executive in the company

I loved that Awesome Kong was initially rooting for Dixie Carter as a woman high up in the TNA promotion. She wanted to be apart of a company that would have a woman that could be able to aid in decision making and offer that representation that is usually never available behind the scenes for women. However, the joyful sentiment didn’t last that long, when it was became clear that Dixie Carter didn’t want to create a harmonious atmosphere that would build on the original success and vigor that the TNA faithful had achieved in the earlier years. No, she wanted absolute power. That of course didn’t sit well with Awesome Kong. 

The pay gap for TNA originals versus the ex WWE stars 

Awesome Kong doing a spot on and comedic inpersonation of Dixie Carter's attitude towards wrestlers like herself having to deal with huge pay discrimination

A part of the second episode that really made me emotional, was hearing Awesome Kong discuss the horrible pay gap that TNA originals experienced when ex WWE stars came in. Kong brings up an example for being very excited when Kurt Angle came in and feels that his one million dollar salary was completely justified. That he deserved every penny and even more. However, when it was her turn to go to the hire ups and discuss her salary, she asked for a tenth of what Kurt Angle made, as she held the TNA Knockouts title and certainly would’ve been justified. She was told that even though she was accurate when she said that most of the women didn’t even earn the salary amount of that of a McDonald’s manager, they still wouldn’t give her a raise. Which essentially would’ve been a livable wage. Even as they were still throwing money at incoming ex WWE wrestlers. You know, just to throw salt in the wound. These TNA originals had to make ends meet in anyway that they could, while being told that the company couldn’t pay them more. 

Awesome Kong says in the episode that she knew of another female wrestler that worked in a bar as a waitress, while being very prominent on TNA’s Impact TV show at the time and was even getting recognized by fans. 

So it goes to paint the picture of how little the knockouts and other TNA wrestlers were getting paid as they see millions of dollars being given to others because of what they did for other companies. Even though they’re the reason why people loved the original style of TNA. 

This already starts to create the tension between those faithful originals and the veterans that were getting amazing payoffs. 

How the original style of TNA changed under the rule of Dixie Carter

We see at the end of episode two and the third episode that there was a huge shift in the direction of TNA. 

How the look, feel and direction of the company drastically changed within a four year span and really created a bitterness between the wrestlers that defined the TNA brand and the ones that came with the linear goal of trying to directly challenge WWE. This goal being spearheaded by DIxie Carter, as she brings in the help of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff. 

The only two that really took it to WWE and beat them for 83 weeks while producing WCW in the late 90s. Here’s the thing though, fans like me loved TNA from 2004-2010 because it WASN’T trying to compete with WWE. 

They were just doing their own thing. They were the cool kids that couldn’t be bothered with the well established company from Connecticut. 

Then 2011 comes around and we get this concentrated effort to directly challenge WWE in a very forced, yet unrealistic way.

As Kong stated, the locker room starts to see through Dixie through a new lens. They see how Dixie Carter leverage her way to be at the top of the mountain in TNA and call all of the shots. She pushes Jeff Jarrett out and thinks that Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff are going to be her saviors and really take it to Vince Mcmahon. When in reality TNA had already accomplished great things. They had a great slot on Spike TV weekly. They also brought in great ratings. They were getting video games and merchandising deals. This wasn’t enough though. No, apparently, they needed to take down the giant that was WWE.  

As this change in the company happens and management changes guards, Dixie Carter puts together an infamous on screen locker room meeting. Where she pretty much threatens in a nice/mean faked “polite” way that things are changing in TNA and if the wrestlers don’t like it, then they can go to another company. Really setting the tone that their input as talent for how they see their characters being in this new chapter for the company is not needed. Of course we know what happens to TNA fro this point on and also that Awesome Kong does leave the company in the coming years and has and off again, on again relationship with TNA since then. 

Overall, Awesome Kong’s appearance in this three part story for TNA really helped to show the knockouts perspective, of why this division was so important and historic for the company and wrestling as a whole. It continues to validate the impact that Kong made and how she truly is a hall of famer and once in a lifetime talent. It was so gratifying to see that echoed through Jeff Jarrett who spearhead the division and was very particular about what women would make up that foundation for the roster. Also, I loved that desire that Kong had for wanting a woman to help lead a prosperous company. That initial support for Dixie from Kong support was visible. Even to this this day. However support is not blind, and if you start to see that that leader doesn’t have the goal of curating a healthy work environment than you relinquish that support. Kong and the other TNA originals deserved to have an environment where there’s equal pay, respect for the talent that made the company successful and the understanding that it takes a team behind the scenes to maintain longevity. 

I truly hope that this appearance from Kong on Dark side of the ring won’t be her last this year. She has so much to offer and I really miss seeing her on screen. 

If you haven’t already seen the story of Jeff Jarrett and the battle for TNA, I encourage you to watch it on Vice Tv's Youtube channel right now. As they all all available!!