WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix has faced – and beaten – just about every woman she has come up against. She had a legendary run in WWE, winning multiple championships, but one dream match always eluded her. Beth Phoenix vs Awesome Kong.
The match would have pitted two of the all-time great female wrestlers in American history. While Beth Phoenix had multiple legendary runs in the WWE, Awesome Kong’s history in the company comprised just one match, and several run ins that ended in her crying in the ring, shortly before her release from the company.
However, before that, Awesome Kong was seen as the jewel in the crown in TNA’s incredible Knockouts Division – their much more legitimate version of the WWE’s divas division. Her rivalry with Gail Kim was one of the best across the world at this time – men or women – and helped make women’s wrestling one of the biggest attractions in the company during this time.
Beth Phoenix vs Awesome Kong
A titanic clash that WWE never managed to book was Beth Phoenix vs Awesome Kong, who was known in the WWE as Kharma. This match would have been the first time that Phoenix was presented as the underdog in a WWE ring, and could have introduced Kong to a much bigger audience than she’d ever been in front of.
The clash was originally pencilled in for WrestleMania 28, the show that was headlined by the massive “Once in a Lifetime” match between John Cena and The Rock.
On his podcast “Wrestling with Freddie“, former WWE writer and Hollywood actor Freddie Prinze Jr revealed that Phoenix was planned to have a single match at Wrestlemania 28. The Glamazon had never had a singles match at Wrestlemania, with it being a rare occurrence for a female star prior to the “Diva’s Revolution”. In fact, there were no female singles matches at WrestleMania for nearly a decade, from WrestleMania 23 to 32.
Beth Phoenix was supposed to wrestle TNA legend Awesome Kong at Wrestlemania 28, according to Prinze Jr. She signed for the company in late 2010, before making a handful of appearances in 2011 following Wrestlemania 27. She was renamed Kharma and was set for a huge push in WWE.
However, Kong soon fell pregnant and suffered a miscarriage, causing her to be taken off TV and put on the shelf indefinitely. She only had one match in WWE, making a surprise return in the 2012 Royal Rumble, eliminating Michael Cole. Her debut the year before came with some huge expectations, with Kong’s rivalry with Gail Kim putting both on the map as two of the best wrestlers in the world.
Because of her medical issues, she was put on the shelf by WWE and the plan for the match with Beth Phoenix was dropped. She was released later in 2012, before being included as a surprise character in the WWE 13 video game. Awesome Kong has not appeared in WWE since then, and her only match in the promotion was at the 2012 Royal Rumble.
However, Freddie Prinze Jr revealed the original plan for Awesome Kong, had she have been fit to wrestle her full schedule in WWE. The story could have continued past WrestleMania, but Awesome Kong was released soon after and the match never materialized.
She meets Natalya and Kong beats her but then goes off after the bell which brings out Beth Phoenix. Now the story couldn’t play and ended up not going because she ended up leaving the company.
Freddie Prinze Jr on a potential Awesome Kong vs Beth Phoenix match at Wrestlemania 28
Awesome Kong recently made a huge return at the 1000th episode of Impact Wrestling (formerly TNA Impact), competing in a huge multi-woman match that included her long-time rival and friend, Gail Kim.