WWE breakout star Kiana James navigated a major wardrobe malfunction in the middle of the Women’s Elimination Chamber Match.
James, 28, wore a purple two-piece during the Saturday, February 28, wrestling bout. As she fought off her competitors, a part of her crop top slipped down too low, fully exposing her breasts.
“Kiana had an unfortunate wardrobe mishap inside [the] Elimination Chamber,” a wrestling fan wrote via Threads, recapping the moment. “Kiana was in an uncomfortable position inside [the] Elimination Chamber, and everything down there was visible on TV, yet the cameraman did not move away from Kiana.”
James, who has not publicly addressed her wardrobe mishaps, was ultimately eliminated by Raquel Rodriguez on Saturday. Rhea Ripley later won the chamber, advancing to the next stage.
The pro wrestler is a relative newcomer in the ring, recently quitting her job in corporate America to pursue a WWE career.
“I fell in love with wrestling and quit my job to train,” James exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of Saturday’s match. “I have an education and a career to fall back on, but I never thought about falling back. That was never an option. I was going to become a WWE superstar and I was going to put the work in until that happened.”
According to James, it felt like “two different lives” trading her corporate gig for life in the WWE.
“I like to think that my journey, every piece of it, led me here. I think that being a WWE superstar blends all of my worlds,” she told Us. “I come from a corporate background, but I grew up a competitive gymnast. In college [at Morningside University in Sioux City, Iowa], I did competitive dance and cheer. I’ve performed in front of a crowd. I have love for the energy of a crowd. The acrobatics, the athleticism, the competition, it just blends it all. I have to do this. I was born for this.”
James has the full support of her husband, Zach Klingensmith, as she embarks on her newfound career.
“I decided, ‘Hey, I want to be a WWE superstar,’ and he was like, ‘Well, it seems like Florida is the place to do it,’” James recalled of her husband’s reaction to her wrestling aspirations. “I didn’t have a contract or anything and he was like, ‘Let’s quit our jobs. I believe in you.’ From day one, he quit his job and moved to Orlando just for me to chase my dream. He’s my ride or die.”
James made her WWE debut in February 2022 at a NXT competition — the same year that she and Klingsensmith said “I do.” She later made her inaugural Raw appearance in June 2024.
“I always like to say, ‘Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.’ So when it comes to training, diet, physique, all that stuff, I’m always honed in,” she told Us of training for the Elimination Chamber. “The Chamber is like nothing else, but it gets me excited. I think my competitive edge is my mind and my strategic ways of thinking. Now, I have a cage and pods and weapons and no rules.”
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