Kia Stevens
Born: September 4, 1977
Birthplace: Carson, CA
Zodiac Sign: Cancer
Career and Life
Kia Michelle Stevens is an American professional wrestler and actress, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling under the ring name Awesome Kong. She is known for her time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, WWE, where she took the ring name Kharma, and the Japanese circuit, where she is known as Amazing Kong. She is a five-time Women's Champion, having won the TNA Knockouts Championship two times and the WWWA World Single Championship, NWA World Women's Championship, and AWA Superstars of Wrestling World Women's Championship once. Her success is not limited to singles wrestling, as she frequently teamed with Aja Kong to form the tag team W Kong who held tag team championships in four different promotions, along with winning the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship with Hamada. She was also ranked first in the inaugural list of Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 50 Females and is the third woman to enter the WWE Royal Rumble match. As an actress, she is best known for playing Tammé "The Welfare Queen" Dawson in the wrestling-themed Netflix original comedy series GLOW.
She began her professional wrestling career in 2002 after appearing on a reality television show. She primarily wrestled in Japan for the first five years of her career, holding numerous championships there. In 2006, she began wrestling in her native United States again, appearing on the independent circuit before appearing on national television with TNA Wrestling where she was a driving force in the foundation of their Knockouts division.
Stevens grew up in Carson, California. Her mother, Phyllis Durant, was an actress and contestant coordinator for Family Feud. She has a younger brother. Prior to becoming a professional wrestler, she was a social worker and owned a business which put vending machines in high schools. Stevens' family and friends helped her fund her career in wrestling when she went to train in Japan. She is also an investor in Nu Skin Enterprises, a line of skin and nutritional products.