5 months ago
27 ARTICLE AD
WWE
For a debut match in WWE's women's division, one could do far worse than coming away with a win over one of the greatest of all time in Natalya. With that in mind, Kiana James' run on "WWE Raw" is off to an excellent start. In her first match since being drafted to "Raw" from "WWE NXT," James was able to get the better of "The BOAT," thwarting a Sharpshooter and landing her finisher, the 401(K) to earn the win.
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James had only been seen in the background of previous episodes since the WWE Draft, interacting with "Raw" General Manager Adam Pearce sporadically but otherwise, not the subject of much attention. Tonight, prior to her match, that was explained by James saying she had been taking her time to get acclimated before hitting the ring for the first time. James, who spent a shade over two years in "NXT" following three appearances as Xtina Kay on "AEW Dark" in 2021, is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion alongside Fallon Henley, eventually losing the titles to Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn at Stand and Deliver 2023.
Following the match, Natalya was shown frustrated and muttering to herself backstage before being approached by Sonya Deville, who asked if she was ready for something different. To that, Natalya invoked her late uncle, Owen Hart, in saying, "Enough is enough and it's time for a change," which was the rallying cry behind his joining The Nation of Domination and became the intro to his theme music for much of 1998.
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