Awesome Kong Has INSANE Dixie Carter Salary Argument!

[@InsideTheRopes]

Do you think TNA messed up by not keeping Awesome Kong back in the day? Let us know in the comments.

[@GiltiatheDarkNight]

They fumbled the bag pretty hard there

[@brandonperkins176]

TNA, unfortunately ruined their chances to be big as learned that Dixie Carter: A) hired Vince Russo in secrecy and B) was absolutely clueless about running a wrestling business

[@robrob9250]

AJ Styles and Awesome Kong were the main attractions in TNA, for me, far more valuable to the company than the people who got paid the big bucks. And then the talent they kept down ended up going to WWE and becoming even bigger stars, like Roode, like Styles, but they were undervalued and undermined because of Dixie’s Hulk Hogan fetish.

[@charlesalford2262]

Absolutely the best female performer

[@rolandobaluja7504]

That was one of the many ways they messed up

[@bigc2626]

She short changed herself. As a female wrestler who could actually wrestle and was easily one of the top talents in the female division, she was also very believable in going toe to toe with a lot of the male wrestlers. She was worth way more IMO. Her asking for $140k a year was them getting a massive bargain.

[@wolfwang8464]

Lol do u even know the average salary of a tv wrestler tho? $140,000 a year sounds like a good amount for her.

[@Micfri300]

​@@wolfwang8464 no it isn't. Tna had over a million viewers then. Sting got paid 500,000 dollars a year.

[@jacoborourke]

​@@wolfwang8464no name chris jericho was signed to wcw for over 100k in 1996 money bro

[@Evan-lr8nq]

@@wolfwang8464 Thats not a lot of money even for a mid sized city.

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

Plus she shows her butt in the shower on glow. Never thought I see her like that.

[@nichelleharris7496]

TNA did her, and many of the women's roster, dirty. But especially her. She's a big part of the reason why TNA'S TV ratings increased.

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

WWE didn't do anything with Her. She did make WWE 12(DLC) And 13.

[@ECW5320]

I hate how they treated Daffney.

[@anthonybarnes1903]

@@nehemiahpouncey3607that was a lost cause from the beginning. There was no way at that point Kong would’ve been successful in wwe.

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

@@anthonybarnes1903 your right Vince Was already ready to bury her not To mention being insulted by the bellas. Nonthing came out of that. Unresolved cliffhanger.

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

@@anthonybarnes1903 but she did make WWE 12 and 13 tho. The only games that feature her.

[@DarthAbyss316]

I'm sorry $42,000 A YEAR??? And then TNA "helped" Awesome Kong out with her mom's funeral BUT then made her pay it back????? That's absolute bullshit. When Awesome breaks it down it becomes pretty damn clear that Dixie Carter didn't give a rat's ass about the extremely talented wrestlers in TNA that helped *build* it only the "toys", as Awesome rightly called them, the signees from WWE. TNA trying to lowball Awesome Kong is disgusting and disgraceful. Now going back to how Awesome broke down the costs: TNA made the wrestlers pay for the rooms, the rental cars, getting insured as a wrestler, and I would also like to point out that Kong is very astute in saying "the upkeep of the one tool you use in wrestling: your body" because that's 100% true that wrestlers need to be in peak physical condition to avoid injuries which could result in them getting fired if they keep getting hurt too often even though it's highly unethical the company will always find some loophole to justify the dismissal, not to mention that you're not going to have a very lengthy career with all the bumps you'll end up taking in addition to trying to balance your finances while you try to save for retirement. If you work it out, which I couldn't possibly do because I'm horrible with math, I can guarantee you that $42,000/year slims down pretty damn fast! Sorry for the wall of text but thank you to Inside The Ropes for this "awesome" interview, pun most definitely intended.

[@ladynoir3603]

Also things to consider are the taxes . It could be worse for those wrestlers that don't register as a business entity.

[@WarGhoulKharas]

Keep in mind that they were paying Hogan $40k an APPEARANCE.

[@DarthAbyss316]

@@WarGhoulKharas Really??? Holy shit! Kong was definitely getting screwed over then. Smh

[@MONEYFIENDKINGKYLE1738]

42,000 a year is how much a regular worker makes

[@kevinfrank8164]

As someone who is making about $43,000 a year and is not a wrestler or paying travel expenses, let me tell you, it’s not enough to live off of now, never mind the fact that half her income went into road expenses and you can’t be Awesome-Bombing people into your 60’s

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

Kong is one of the best female wrestlers ever, Her and Gail tore the house down

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

She also played on glow. Plus you see her naked behind lol.😂 Kong's first nude scene ever.

[@TheShadowBrigade]

I never gave two shits about women's wrestling until their feud. They were consistently one of the best (if not THE best) parts of any show they were on. Easily one of the top 5 TNA feuds ever.

[@coreywatkins2450]

Agreed Gail wrestling Kong allowed me to see Gail in a whole new light

[@melvinh007]

Awesome Kong and Gail Kim TNA run put women's wrestling at a higher level for the entire industry. Yes, Trish and Lita WWE run got the wheels turning in the early 2000's - but in regards to feuds and physicality - Kong/Gail had it going on! - THEN the Sasha Banks and Bayley NXT run. These are the 6 women that changed the game for women's wrestling.

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

@@TheShadowBrigade well why are you Here? That defeats the whole purpose.

[@burtbun3689]

Awesome Kong (and Gail Kim) almost single handedly transformed women's wrestling. She was legit scary, with the talent to back it up. For all the bargain years ($40,000?!) they should have been quick to get that woman whatever she asked for, just about no other talent earned it more than her.

[@commanderchaos5670]

She def deserved more the 40k a year, that's crazy. I remember watching her wrestle at a local independent show and she mopped the floor with the poor guy they put in the ring with her. And after the match she choke-slammed the ref. It was one of the most memorable matches iv seen live, she was a good wrestler and criminally underpaid and under rated.

[@louio]

I'm not into female wrestlers because most are not believable but she is a unique attraction 😂

[@neilmccullagh3021]

@@louio Tbf her Gail Kim and Taylor wydle stuff was cool and watchable anything basically Dutch was booking made sense unfortunately in women’s wrestling it doesn’t happen every often

[@ach_dev6554]

that 3K+ a month... thats absurd. I almost make that a month and I live in a country far less expensive to live in than the USA

[@ceejay3121]

I’m always in awe at how soft her voice really is because I’m so use to her portraying this “monster” on TV. She also seems like the nicest and coolest person to be around.

[@BlkEaselsAndLovePalettes]

Word

[@sheawhitey5009]

Most of THE BIG SCARY PEOPLE THAT ARE IN WRESTLING ARE THE NICEST MOST LAID-BACK GENTLE SOULS IN THE BUSINESS

[@MrAnime4lyfe]

It's why they debuted her with a mouthpiece and after that, she was generally silent lol. When she starts speaking, the monster image vanishes.

[@jwhite2005]

I think yes , awesome Kong hardly gets any credit for the time being there at TNA. She does deserve a little bit more credit. Yes they did mess up by not keeping her.

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

Sorry kong for ahem seeing your Bare butt in the shower on glow.😑

[@WisconsinParkour]

What a badass woman...who more than deserved MORE THAN what she got. Wishing her well. Went through a lot of tough times. : -/

[@Fred_Die]

$40k seems absurdly low for being consistently some of the highest rated segments. This is one of the few places id argue sexism wage disparity. If you are bringing in the eyes to the product, you should be paid accordingly, not this whole bs where past their prime wrestlers are being paid more

[@Fred_Die]

The more and more i heard her talk, the more and more i appreciated her business acumen. Gfy Dixie

[@aljabirxiju9475]

garbage. stop bringing sex into it. i barely heard of her. the pay relates to how OVER a person is as well as their market value and brand name recognition. the mcdonalds manager could demand more money but the owner knows they don't have to pay more. how the FUCK is it bs that the big name talent gets paid more? you don't seem to understand marketing or business...which is why you immediately default to the only explanation you can think of...i.e., some identity politics, patriarchy, sexist blah blah blah bullshit.

[@juniorlee9341]

Back then female wrestlers made considerably less than the males. Chyna , for as much as a trail blazer as she's recognized, wasn't even earning a hundred grand a year during her run . Divas were averaging 50 grand a year. Honestly, not until the Horse Women was it even heard of for a female wrestler to earn a million a year. It's sad.

[@Fred_Die]

@@juniorlee9341 divas always deserve $50k, if that. Lita and Trish (once she got up to snuff) deserved a lot more. Chyna deserved to be paid like the men, but she took it a bit too far when she asked for stone cold money

[@josephkerr2807]

@@juniorlee9341 wrong Chyna was offered $400,000 per year by WWE and she wanted 1 million because she thought she was as big as Stone Cold Steve Austin. That is crazy to me to think that, and believe her own hype to even be at that level. Only The Rock and Undertaker were at that level and deserved that kind of salary.

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

She didn't fit the look that Hogan and Bischoff wanted, They want women that look like models no different than Laurinaitis

[@squarepickle]

I don't think Hogan or Bischoff even cared, nor should they have... but to be fair to Laurinaitis, women's wrestling sucks in general. Unless you're talking about a Gail Kim, Awesome Kong, Chyna, Lita, Trish, or someone on that level there aren't a lot of big name women who weren't just famous for being beautiful.. Torrie, Stacy, and Sable will always be bigger mainstream stars than any of today's "competitive" women will at any point.. Sex definitely outsells ring-work and it just so happens that there are several women who had both and only a few that got big through actually ring work. Awesome Kong looked terrifying next to other women. If she didn't her ring work would have meant nothing.

[@rolandobaluja7504]

Well haven't you noticed that with the exception of a few years in wcw everytime Hogan and Bischoff have creative control and around administrative positions they are notorious for having the reverse Midas Touch. Look what they did to tiene look what they've done in any other brand that they've been and how bukit what they did to wcwa after few years. Beshoff brags about his 82 weeks which is fantastic competing with WWE but at the end of day look at the decisions he contributed to that caused the downfall between Bischoff, Hogan, Vince Russo, and Kevin Nash WCW went down the toilet as a result of it being run poorly. If you look at the combination of Dixie Carter, Hogan, Jeff Jarrett and Bischoff there's a reason impact went down the toilet. Poor leadership damage the product

[@natebaxter9551]

​@@squarepickle this is a fair take. I've been saying it for years. 80% of women's wrestling sucks. So look and gimmicks are even more important.

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

She was good in Glow.

[@CorneliusCharles]

It broke my heart to hear her talk about the death of her mother and not being there and not being able to pay for her funeral simply because TNA wasn't paying her enough. She 1000% deserved better because she was indeed a star and a main attraction in the show. It's the reason she's in the HOF today.

[@jimcockey4385]

Never met her but I have the utmost respect for Kong based solely on how she represents herself in these interviews 💯

[@MFD00MTR33]

$40k a year? I think most bottom ranked divas(ones you might see on main event 6 times a year) start at $150-$200k and they're paying one of their top 2 females $40k?!? No wonder Taylor Wilde had to work a Sunglasses hut as a second job and she probably made more there working part time.

[@johnhicks8911]

There were some wwe salaries from 2006 going around on twitter recently and even someone like Jillian hall, who was on the bottom tier of divas, was making like $55k year

[@Thepokedek]

@@johnhicks8911 hall is a former champion

[@Thepokedek]

no wwe diva start from 150k their salaries were leaked back in 2015 or 16 round there and the starting salary was 80-82k liv morgan and mandy rose

[@MFD00MTR33]

@@Thepokedek that's double what she was making which is offensive considering that's just their starting salary for a new diva. Kong has been there for years and was one of the 2 top females in the company, not some rookie signed to NXT. Sasha and other top females were making $250-$325k at that time. Do you think $40k was a fair salary for her?

[@otroscruffy]

Back during that time they weren’t making as much as nowadays. I remember reading Maria made about 30k a year, and while I did not like her, she was a popular one.

[@ayabrea4818]

Awesome Kong was literally one of the reasons why many of us even bothered watching TNA back in the day, and that is by NO MEANS an exaggeration. The fact that she was paid only $40,000 is insane. If someone like her who was a pioneer for the Knockouts Division was only given that much, I shudder to think what other top talent were severely underpaid.

[@Sougamwthmana]

Let us also not forget that at the time, the Knockouts Division was KILLING it while WWE was full on in its Divas era

[@RickKoeppen]

Awesome Kong, ODB, and the Beautiful People - that was my favorite era of women's wrestling of any company at any time, bar none. I looked forward to their matches/segments as much as whatever the men were doing at the time. I cannot believe to hear Awesome Kong was compensated with a mere 40k a year and had to pay back her mom's funeral expenses. I'd figure at LEAST they'd just give it to her.

[@soulofanerd9364]

💯

[@comic_food_guy]

Kong was an incredible talent in TNA. She provided differentiation among the division which helped her standout well. Often too many wrestlers are similar or blatant clones.

[@TheRayvolution]

This is a GREAT point. Wow. Really good take.

[@jack-exzolt9858]

I would argue that she and Gail Kim lit the place on fire and actually helped them skyrocket the Knockouts Division.

[@One.Zero.One101]

That was an epic email. I wish I had the balls to email that to my boss. 😂

[@wingedhussar1453]

She wasn't making enough anyway for who and what she did . Top of women's divisin and huge loss and tna did not take care of her. King had options could do japan etc so she said what she said

[@mrcleod]

This was one of the best interviews ive seen in a while

[@buffbeenstuffed]

I remember when she debuted with TNA and a few weeks in I would have people from my area who channel surf and stumble onto TNA would frequently ask me about Awesome Kong? Who is she? To have that kind of aura where people are compelled to watch you who are not wrestling fan's and to generate ratings for your company but to be paid peanuts is laughable. I hope Kong is doing well she was a superstar

[@CodeNameAlison]

Love Kong. AEW should’ve kept her around to train the women and help out with storylines similar to what Gail Kim does in impact wrestling.

[@jugghead82]

Man she is such a Beautiful person shame how TNA did her

[@edboy995]

She was one of the biggest reasons why I paid attention to the TNA female roster, when she had the women’s title she was just a monster, you knew when Kongs music hit that somebody was going to get destroyed. It’s insane that she hasn’t gotten the recognition and opportunity’s in TNA and WWE that she deserves, Kong is one of wrestlings most underrated female talents ❤

[@Vinnce12]

My introduction to TNA was as a preteen. I was flipping through the channels when I stumbled on Awesome Kong wrestling Gail Kim for the Knockouts Title. Kong captured my attention IMMEDIATELY because she was nothing like the women I'd seen WWE. Up until that point, I had never seen a woman playing the role of a monster heel, at least not as effectively as Kong. I became a fan on the sport and to this day I think TNA owes a debt to her for helping establish an air of legitimacy in their women's division that WWE didn't have.

[@arrvellpendelton3020]

Same here I was flipping through channels on random Thursday night and came across Gail vs Kong in the main event for the title and I have been hooked ever since

[@viccrown8188]

Kong is one of the MAIN reasons I watched TNA

[@Jay794]

I would argue that part of Awesome Kong's appeal was that she was NOT viewed the same as as Gail Kim, Angelina Love and the rest of the knockouts

[@hughmurphy151]

Kong was a scary lady.. to hear her speak you see she is so far from the Kong character.. she's a badass..

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

Plus on glow you see her butt When showering.😂 OMG

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

​@@hughmurphy151 she was in Glow too.

[@hughmurphy151]

@@nehemiahpouncey3607 this is true.. I'm sure she was a wealth of knowledge for it too..

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

@@hughmurphy151 kongs first nude Scene appearantly.

[@jasonray8702]

Jagerbombs- Kong went up yet another level of respect. I do think she wasn't utilized properly but TNA had that problem a lot back in the day. Every shoot interview I see with her I just love her more and more.

[@robrob9250]

Man… I always loved Kong, she was a superstar and as much as there is a lot of talk of ‘the women’s revolution’ in WWE, Kong was one of those leading the charge for female wrestling before all that, at a time when WWE were still running Diva Search and signing catalogue models. To learn how she was treated by TNA makes me sick. I hope she’s making a more comfortable living these days from her acting, she’s a great talent and a legend and she seems like a really nice, genuine person in all the interviews I’ve seen her give. Her debut in AEW showed how much she is appreciated by the fans, if that was Hogan or Dixie or any of the other TNA names I dare say the reaction would be very different. If only they’d actually focused on talents like Kong, AJ Styles, Joe, then they could have been something, instead of seeing those names go on to debut in WWE and actually become the stars they were unable to be in TNA because of the likes of Hogan, Dixie and Bischoff.

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

Remember on glow we saw her naked Behind in the shower?😂

[@TheBlackKakashi]

Awesome carried the TNA Knockout division as a heel for a long time

[@darrenwest9091]

Kong is overdue to start doing ASMR. I love how her voice sounds. Just saying.

[@itsOasus]

She deserved so much more respect than she got....

[@TheSaltySeaman]

She is so awesome, I love her interviews!

[@brianguider3873]

VERY eye opening interview 😳

[@ThizzyWailer]

All these years and I think this is my first time hearing her voice.

[@FlushGorgon]

My 1st time was her induction of Gail Kim in the Impact HoF.

[@solidsnakemgs2180]

Gail Kim, Taylor Wilde, Hamada, Roxxi, ODB all left due to money in 2007-2010

[@KombatW0mbat]

My jaw dropped when she said 40K

[@Tittymaster]

Mine after she enumerated the work-related expenses on top of that, with her ending up with 20,000 $ per year (despite being one of the top-stars of the whole show). This is borderline criminal malfeasence, really..

[@CaliforniaDreamin.]

I really love her personality… there is just something that draws you to her. I love listening to her talk about her wrestling career.

[@MrDivaMediaV1]

Kong is truly one of a kind. There hasn't ever been nor will there ever be a female wrestler like her!

[@richardcafarelli3319]

It’s ridiculous that they were paying her that low, she deserved so much more.

[@knightmare1015]

It was the same reason AJ Styles left. They wanted him to do more dates at less money than what he was doing and making and AJ also said that this was "gross Dollars" and that he had to cover a lot of his expenses. TNA did not want to pay their home grown talent who was going out there working hard as they could while they would pay ex WWE and WCW talent twice as much for nothing and next to nothing.

[@stevenkawleski3269]

first of all.. she needs a manager who can negotiate on her behalf. secondly.. at the time, given her size, she presented a unique product that even wwe didnt have. She was instantly recognizable, and should have been the highest paid female on the roster.

[@jtaihreen84]

I think based on that email she showed she was fully capable of negotiating on her own. They underestimated her intelligence and business acumen as well as her knowledge of the industry. That email reflects that. It wouldn't have mattered what anyone said: they were never gonna give her more.

[@canedust]

Good on her, for knowing her worth and saying so.

[@Otokarashi17]

Wow. That “Dixie playing with her new signees like toys” reminds me of Tony

[@herecomesdatrain]

For the audience I assume you are referring to Tony Khan

[@richie_jewell92]

As Randy Orton would call him, “Jacksonville Dixie”.

[@KingLex87]

​@@richie_jewell92😂😂😂😂

[@marionlawless]

Tony pays his employees well.

[@Jennifer_Lewis_Beach_Living]

The big difference is Tony pays the workers very well, he allows them to have outside opportunities (as long as it doesn’t impact AEW), and he pays them their salary + medical expenses if the wrestler is injured. He also doesn’t send a ham to and withhold a worker’s last paycheck from the worker’s partner if the worker dies.

[@ennbee2051]

THAT is Mrs. Kong. And you shouldn't spook her like that.

[@justin_your_cousin9273]

Kong and Gail Kim are the Trish and Lita of Impact Wrestling

[@superrandom1558]

Her vs Aja Kong was a great damn match if you guys haven’t seen it (please correct the name if I’m wrong ) it was a match in Japan I believe

[@jiovanysoltero923]

The first thing I thought too myself when she was discussing her salary. Was this the point when Dixie and TNA signed Christy Hemme to a ludicrous deal. that felt like a slap to the face for the Knockouts Division.

[@squarepickle]

Let me just say, TNA made a huge mistake letting Awesome Kong go. She definitely deserved more money than she was getting at that time... but also, leave it to a British wrestling fan to not understand why Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair are getting paid more than TNA wrestlers. 😂😂

[@tallglasscocoa6105]

She really should do comedy. She is physically menacing but her voice sounds very girly like Jordan Peele when he does Meegan. Now I see why some of the wrestlers gear looked home made from JoAnn Fabrics. TNA did a lot of wrestlers DIRTY. A.J. Styles, Gail Kim and Awesome Kong, SomoanJoe,and Christopher Daniels. The people who made TNA money, status and the heart of TNA.

[@hughedens9839]

Any idea where I can watch the full interview

[@seanbuchanan966]

If WWE would have let her just be Kong and let her loose she would have been a beyond Megastar. She's a beyond great wrestler and probably Hof in impact. There should have been more to her career and way more financially set.

[@mo6live]

Wwe was going to let her wym but she got pregnant

[@Jennifer_Lewis_Beach_Living]

And now, she’s getting acting jobs in Hollywood and was one of the main cast in “GLOW”.

[@donovanbradford8231]

The thing that sucks so bad isn't even that TNA short changed the non WWE talent it was that they didn't have stomach to tell them, all these big names luke Hogan, Angle, Nash, Booker, RVD, Jeff Hardy, etc, we aren't even paying for it's Viacom that's signing their checks. So I wonder what would have happened if those names would have found out about that what would happened.

[@williambrulip512]

She was one of the top stars of the female division at the time ( alongside Gail Kim and TBP ) , have helped TNA to grow with what she was doing. 2007 to 2009 was the golden age of the female division in TNA, always delivering much much better matches than what WWE was doing at the time ( with the likes of Candice Michelle and Kelly Kelly and all ) . Yet, for all of that, Dixie was only paying her 40k ? Jeez, no wonder she tried her luck with WWE... Hearing that she was making such a small number despite being one of the major stars of the female division, makes me wonder how low, people like Sarita, Rosita, and Sojournor Bolt, were making... Was Dixie even able to understand how lucky she was that Kong had been accepting to work for her for only 40k ? Sounds to me like she clearly didn't.

[@DjLatinoHeat1981]

where can i view the full thing?

[@comic_food_guy]

I enjoy these interviews

[@NemesisEnforcer4937]

I miss her wrestling and she has a wonderful personality.

[@RemnantSRT440]

Awesome Kong was one of the reasons I was so excited to watch TNAs women's division. So many of the women Kicked ass even Victoria/Tara did so much more than in WWE. It disgust me how companies take advantage of hard working loyal workers/talent and then feed them scraps. I'm glad she stood up for herself amd we should all do that as well

[@chrisortiz8072]

She comes off as a sweetheart. I know she had a child and im happy for her. It is just a shame it came during what would of arguably been a mega push for her possibly. She missed out on lot of money. I hope she is doing well.

[@indianahoosier6367]

#KiaStevens AKA Awesome Kong is so missed in wrestling, I wish she would do one more run. #AwesomeKong... THANK YOU for all the great matches you gave us, we love you ! !

[@NephilimHunter1959]

Awesome Kong is a wrestler i wish i appreciated more because being a young man i was drawn more to the eye candy of the Beautiful people but looking back it's Awesomes Kongs matches with Gail Kim and Taylor Wilde is what stands out to me when i think back on the knockouts division. The knockout division was truly special back then and i know TNA gets memed on alot but when i think of all the talent i got to watch it was truly amazing to watch.

[@microfighterz]

It sounds like a lot of issues TNA had at this point were the exact same issues WCW had before going under. How the hell is impact even still around? It's almost impressive how it refuses to die.

[@d.52555]

Dixie Carter’s family (the owners of panda energy, the funder of TNA at the time) could’ve cared less about TNA and wanted to spend as little as possible. But yet Dixie still didn’t want to do the right thing and sell the company to spike or even give a little bit of ownership knowing her parents wouldn’t invest what’s needed into the company.

[@100Stratusfiedx]

40k is not even enough for someone working a regular 9-5 office job. Absolutely insane that a huge star like her can’t make 6 figures

[@jeichien7743]

Bischoff and Hogan be paying other wrestlers tons of money

[@realbkg]

Always loved and respected awesome Kong never felt she was used right anyplace she went

[@kidray7818]

Damn, only $40,000 dollars. I can't believe that's all Dixie paid Awesome Kong. SMFH

[@1violence]

Kong worded that so perfectly, and brought up only valid points. Every single person, in almost EVERY industry, should take her words to heart and think about how they are being compensated as well. Im talking to *YOU*, reader. Think about how much more your boss earns than you. Now think about how much "harder" their job is than yours. Is that disparity fair to you? Does the CEO really work 100 times harder than you do? Why are they being compensated as if thats the case? _YOU_ are worth more. _YOU_ deserve more. Ask for a raise today.

[@OfficialFingazMC]

Amazing wrestler! More of an amazing person!

[@sowingandreaping7871]

Awesome kong was my girl. I was tired of the boring divas.

[@martinteece8983]

Always loved Kong, when she came to wwe I was little sad since they don't like big women, but tna was I feel Kong holy grail, aswell her ability on mic vs Gail Kim ways made me sit and watch.

[@bullock4211]

I was never a big TNA fan even during its supposed "glory years". I would only tune in to watch a handful of wrestlers, Kong being one. It surprises me that she only made 42k a year when she was one of the reasons people tuned in.

[@theyamo7219]

I mostly watched for Kong, Gail, and Samoa Joe (since I was a huge fan of Joe in ROH) to be honest...and AJ

[@NightSkeptic]

I love how far ItR has come over the years.

[@WAFFLEBOYPHD]

I mean they did the same thing to AJ Styles. When his contract came up in 2013-2014 they demanded him to take a pay cut when he was barely making that much anyways. TNA when ran by Dixie wasn’t a place to get paid.

[@theyamo7219]

DITZY Carter

[@crimealleysoutlaw1103]

Her and Molly Holly are my all time favorites🙂

[@themarkedwards.]

Yeah she worth more than what she was making it’s all about standing up for yourself if you make a company a million dollars a year you should at least be making 100,000

[@markfrazier8010]

Never can understand why did she retire, greatest in ring female performer!!!

[@SGlenn97]

Go damn, I really wish AEW was around when she was in her prime. She would have been excellent for their roster.

[@Jennifer_Lewis_Beach_Living]

She did wrestle for AEW. I believe that they dropped her after her contract ran out.

[@AshMundo]

Awesome Kong and Gail Kim were the best segments in TNA at the time. Better than the other talents. Dixie was clueless, not paying your highest rating talent just to have the company flop due to begging wwe talent.

[@Supreme_Cipher]

Can we please talk about how Great Awesome Kong looks? She beautiful, and hasn't aged a bit, it doesn't make sense that TNA short changed her, I wish her WWE run would've been better, where she could've made more money.

[@Brandeena233]

Awesome Kong is so rad.

[@colorfields]

Like.. she is the most memorable person from that era of tna. I wish she was in the industry like 5 years later.

[@BadNewsYouNeedToKnow]

Spike tv was paying for the big guys.

[@jeremiahmorin1867]

Say what you want about aew, stories like this make me super happy that their talent is super well paid

[@mrmoviemanic1]

She's such an amazing actress, loved her on GLOW

[@shawnleonidas]

I love Kong! She is such a bad ass woman and on top of that so wise and sweet! I hope I could meet her and at least experience a bit of her kindness.

[@smooth2365]

Where is the rest? What was the end result?

[@fyrewatermelons]

The comment about Dixie's favoritism towards "imported" talent reminds me of how people keep comparing how both TNA and AEW brought in more imports than establishing /adding value to "homegrown" talent. However, I would argue that AEW has announced an equal amount of imported and indie signings compared to TNA. (More in the replies.)

[@fyrewatermelons]

Dixie's vision for TNA was "trickle-down economics" with reputation. the more noteworthy of wrestler she signed, the more credibility they would (in theory) give TNA. TK's approach has been more akin to OG TNA by giving a platform for all talent. Wither they were transferred from WWE, got rejected from WWE, and/or never been signed to WWE.

[@edithgomez8092]

YEAH!!! She is a very smart wise woman!!!!

[@stevenrussellhaime6626]

Awesome Kong is a Legend of Wrestling period forget just women’s wrestling

[@ricohendrixpro]

She should’ve tried to get them for more. $140k (eventually $154k) is still grossly low considering what she offered the product. There’s no way she shouldn’t have been seeing a quarter of a million dollars annually. And it’s hard to believe that she didn’t have the leverage to pull the WWE card if need be, because she certainly would’ve been able to go there.

[@Jennifer_Lewis_Beach_Living]

Exactly. WCW was paying their mid-card talent $156K back in the early 1990s. It stinks that the WWE weren’t interested in her. This was the Laurinitius era, where the women “wrestlers” had to look like a Playboy model or Victoria’s Secret model.

[@williammitchell4417]

I can believe it easily that Dixie ripped off everyone in the talent. It was even rumored and innuendo that even the production companies didn't get paid.

[@randyholget8462]

Wen was this filmed?

[@MrNatural73]

She is A Doll❤

[@A_YouTube_Commenter]

40k a year? I was a postal worker when she was at TNA and made more than she did?😮

[@dephonnelzy5536]

God Kong is a wonderful talker. I need to hear her more

[@mrcleod]

I honestly feel i could have a beer or coffee with her after this. Im glad she got paid through Netflix

[@Mr818Joker]

40 thousand a year?!?!??! Wtf that's how much a security guard or maintenance person makes...wow TNA was cheap

[@liquidsnake6879]

"We can't do this unless you send us a number" they can, they always can, they know the number already, they're just relying on you selling yourself short, most people do.

[@tylegend1986]

She was right, she deserved more🤷🏿‍♂️❤