Black History Month Spotlight: Kiana James

Throughout the month of February, Diva Dirt will highlight one (or extra) Black girls’s wrestler a day. This will not be a countdown, however only a option to shine mild on the previous and current Black girls of the trade. With that stated, these every day articles won’t be in any specific order.

Representation issues to marginalized teams, and right here at Diva Dirt we give attention to giving these people the popularity they deserve.

February 18th we’re going to see Kiana James.

Kiana James means enterprise. She is happening 5 years in wrestling as she began coaching in 2021. She was skilled by Shawn Spears and Tyler Breeze at their Flatbacks Wrestling School. She acquired additional coaching on the WWE Performance heart. Before WWE, she first appeared underneath the ring identify Xtina Kay in a match for AEW.

James made his debut in WWE on the NXT model simply 4 years in the past in February. Since then, she had been a focus of NXT heading into the NXT 2.0 period. She is a former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion, pairing with Fallon Henley in a singular partnership. She is one in all solely three Black girls (Ember Moon, Kayden Carter) to carry the NXT Women’s Tag Team belts earlier than their championships have been deactivated.

James spent just a little over two years in NXT earlier than incomes a call-up to the principle roster as a part of the Raw model. However, her momentum was halted when a leg damage sidelined her for greater than a yr. After making her return, she was moved to SmackDown, the place she has balanced roles as each an in-ring competitor and Giulia’s supervisor.

Recently, James has been reminding followers of her in-ring means, delivering a formidable efficiency within the 2026 Women’s Royal Rumble by lasting over 27 minutes. She additionally teamed with Giulia to problem for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, though the duo in the end fell quick.