Awesome Kong Reveals AEW Continued to Pay Her During Pandemic-Related Absence

Awesome Kong was one of the top female wrestlers in TNA, known for her size and presence. She eventually made her way to AEW but left the company after a short time. In fact, she revealed that AEW continued to pay her for a long period, even when she wasn’t wrestling.

When AEW launched back in 2019, Awesome Kong joined the women’s division of the company. She wrestled in five matches for AEW between 2019 and 2020, with her last match on the January 1, 2020, taping of AEW Dark. Her run was a brief one as she suffered an injury and eventually parted ways with AEW in 2021.

While speaking during a recent interview on Victoire, Awesome Kong explained that she had to leave AEW temporarily to film the Netflix series GLOW, and during that time, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Due to certain health issues, she was unable to travel. AEW continued to pay her even though she couldn’t attend the shows in Jacksonville, Florida, which she greatly appreciated.

Reflecting on her time, Stevens shared that AEW supported her longer than she expected, given her inability to return. They eventually agreed to part ways amicably since she couldn’t be there in person, but she expressed gratitude for AEW’s support.

“At the beginning of 2019, right from the jump — whenever AEW started, like for real, for real, I was there, okay?… I had to leave for a little bit to go shoot GLOW and then, while we were shooting GLOW, the pandemic happened, and because of certain ailments that I have, I could not travel, and God bless them. They paid me way longer than I thought they would or should. God bless ‘em, forever, and we just parted ways, because I couldn’t come back and why keep paying someone? We parted amicably, seriously, and they paid me way longer than I would’ve paid somebody who’s just not coming in a job. I’m just saying, so, yeah.“

Awesome Kong would retire back in 2021 but made her in-ring return in the fall of 2023 for the 1,000th episode of IMPACT. No matter what, Kong will always appreciate AEW for the generosity they showed her, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

How does Awesome Kong’s experience with AEW, particularly their support during her absence, highlight the importance of companies supporting their talent through difficult times? Let us know what you think in the comments.