Awesome Kong stopped by Collider Live to discuss her career, AEW, and her Netflix show GLOW. During the course of the conversation, Awesome Kong revealed that AEW is behind their wrestlers and puts the talent first before the pocketbooks.
Who is Awesome Kong?
Awesome Kong was one of the more popular female wrestlers over the last decade. While she spent some time in WWE, most wrestling fans will probably know her for her work in Impact Wrestling. She won multiple championships when she was with the promotion.
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Over the last 3 years, she has been acting in the Netflix series GLOW. The show is an adaptation of the real-life wrestling promotion Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (G.L.O.W) and how it came together. Awesome Kong debuted at Double or Nothing a few months ago and she has confirmed she will be wrestling in AEW as well as continue to act on the show.
How does AEW treat their wrestlers?
Roxy Striar asked Awesome Kong about her health benefits and how WWE's health plan differs from AEW. Awesome Kong replied that with WWE, while the injuries suffered in the ring might be taken care of, the everyday exams and check-ups were something that the wrestler was responsible for. This was not the case in AEW.
"From my time in WWE, what I understood was, if you got hurt in the ring then that is something they would take care of. However, your everyday exams and check-ups, that was something that you had to be responsible for. As an individual, it's hard and expensive to acquire such medical care with the profession we are in." (H/T Fightful)
"When you have a company like [AEW] that's behind you and providing [medical care], that really makes it a lot easier on the pocketbook. Just to have that support of, 'these people don't see me as this product in a box. They see me as an actual person.' We had a meeting about concussions and their approach to it was full of humanity and putting yourself and your health first. For old school people, it's hard to comprehend because we'll literally break our neck and try to keep going. To have that attitude of care and putting talent before the bottom line is new for us and surprising, but appreciated." (H/T Fightful)
What's next?
It's interesting how AEW takes care of their wrestlers. It's also important to note that health care benefits are an ongoing issue in professional wrestling as it is for the rest of the United States. From the sound of it, AEW seems to be on the right path when it comes to taking care of their talent.
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