It’s now official that Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer Awesome Kong will be returning to the ring next month.
As we’ve noted, Kong and other veteran Impact stars were recently announced for the Impact 1000 Fan Celebration – The Beautiful People (Velvet Sky, Angelina Love), Tommy Dreamer, D’Lo Brown, Impact Hall of Famer Gail Kim, and Impact Hall of Famers Team 3D. Following this addition, it was announced that Impact Hall of Famers Team 3D will return to the ring that night for their first match together since 2016, but no opponents were announced. The company then quietly added Kong and The Beautiful People to the card for the 1000th Impact episode, but like Team 3D, no opponents were announced, and the graphics really did not confirm that Kong, Love and Sky would be wrestling or just appearing on the Impact 1000 episode, but a return to in-ring action was indicated.
In an update, Impact confirmed today that Kong will return to the ring at the upcoming 1000th episode tapings. Her opponent still has not been announced.
“IMPACT Hall of Famer and former multi-time Knockouts World Champion, Awesome Kong, will return to the ring for the first time in over three years when IMPACT Wrestling celebrates its monumental 1000th episode on September 9th in White Plains, NY. Be there LIVE and witness the carnage of Kong!,” they wrote.
Kong has not wrestled for TNA/Impact since her win over Sky at the January 9, 2016 TV tapings. She worked a few indie matches in 2017 and 2018, then made her AEW debut at the inaugural Double Or Nothing pay-per-view on May 25, 2019, competing as a surprise entrant in the Fatal 4 Way that saw Britt Baker defeat Kong, Kylie Rae and Nyla Rose. Kong would go on to accompany Brandi Rhodes to the ring, and the two eventually formed a stable. Kong also worked the Casino Battle Royale at the inaugural All Out event on August 31, 2019, and made her Dark debut with a win over Leva Bates at the November 20, 2019 tapings. Kong’s Dynamite in-ring debut came on the December 18, 2019 episode, where she defeated Miranda Alize. Her next AEW in-ring appearance was her final match for the company, which came as a win over Skyler Moore at the Dark tapings on January 1, 2020. Kong has not wrestled since then, but she did make a few more AEW TV appearances until she went to film Netflix’s GLOW series. Kong’s last appeared for AEW in February 2020, so officials chose to let her contract expire without a renewal, and she was released on June 1, 2021.
Kong, who made her pro wrestling debut in October 2002, announced her retirement from in-ring action at the NWA EmPowerrr all-women’s event on August 28, 2021. Her career included runs with WWE, AEW, Impact, NWA, ROH, Shimmer, as well as numerous indie and Japanese promotions.
Kong was inducted into the Impact Hall of Fame in 2021. She is a two-time Impact Knockouts World Champion, a one-time Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champion, a one-time NWA World Women’s Champion, and she held several other titles around the world.
It looks like the 1000th episode of Impact will air on Thursday, September 14 as the post-Victory Road edition. The special episode will be taped on Saturday, September 9 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY. Impact will also tape additional episodes that night to carry them to Bound For Glory. This is the day after the 2023 Victory Road pay-per-view from the same venue.
Below is the updated card for Impact 1000:
* The return of Feast or Fired with competitors TBA
* The return of Ultimate X with competitors TBA, this looks to be the 50th Ultimate X in company history
* Frankie Kazarian and Traci Brooks vs. Eddie Edwards and Alisha Edwards
* The Beautiful People (Angelina Love, Velvet Sky) and others TBA will appear on the episode
* Impact Hall of Famer Awesome Kong will wrestle her first match since 2020, opponent TBA
* Impact Hall of Famers Team 3D reunite for their first match together since August 2016, opponents TBA
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more.
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