10 Wrestlers AEW Saved From Retirement

10. Awesome Kong

Many people (this writer included) would argue that Awesome Kong does not get the credit she deserves as a trailblazer in the women's wrestling revolution. She was tearing it up in TNA at a time when WWE was still treating its women with the respect of an alpha bro podcast host, fighting the good fight before the Four Horsewomen changed everything.

Sadly, her career has been one of many stops and starts. Her incredible tenure at TNA ended with a dicey relationship, and her 2010-12 run with WWE (as Kharma) was mired by a long leave of absence and an eventual departure from the company.

Kong was inactive for years following her second departure from TNA in 2016. For a while her role in Netlfix's GLOW was the closest she came to in-ring work. However, that all changed in 2019 when she debuted for AEW at Double or Nothing. Wow!

Sure, her time in AEW didn't reach the level fans would have hoped - the less said about The Nightmare Collective, the better. However, seeing her get one final run in a major company before her retirement in 2021 was, simply put, awesome!

She's now an Impact Hall of Famer, and here's hoping retirement is treating her well.