Booker T sees big things in Kiana James' future.
In the 2024 WWE Draft, several NXT stars were selected by Raw and SmackDown. Ilja Dragunov, Lyra Valkyria, Carmelo Hayes, and Blair Davenport made the move to the main roster. Former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion Kiana James was drafted by Raw as well.
Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T commented on the WWE Draft's impact on NXT, and he highlighted Kiana James.
“I hate that we lose so many great, young talent from NXT. Ilja Dragunov is one of them, Kiana James. I’m excited for Kiana James. I really feel like she’s ready for this moment. I feel like she’s matured in NXT to the point where she has been ready for this moment for quite some time. She don’t have the resume as a lot of the people leaving NXT, as far as being champion and whatnot. I think Kiana James is almost gonna be like that Olympic athlete that was really, really good in the amateurs, but when they got to the pros, they really wasn’t that good. But then you see some of the guys in the amateurs that wasn’t that great, but then they go on to be great in the pros. I feel like Kiana James is gonna be great as a pro, and she’s gonna set a lot of records," Booker T said.
Booker T was then asked to describe what stood out about Kiana James. He noted that she passed the airport test. He also praised her talent in the ring and described how it was almost cerebral. Booker T went on to state that she was someone who could be counted on.
“The first time I saw Kiana James, you remember where I said I saw her? At the airport. I’m like, ‘Man, who’s that?’ So she passed the airport test. She looked the part. She played the part. You knew she was somebody, even if you didn’t know who she was. Then when she gets in the ring, her talent, it’s almost cerebral. It’s very, very subtle. It’s small, little things that we talk about at Reality of Wrestling that a lot of people, it would totally go over their head. She’s one that I feel like you can count on as well. In this business, they gotta be able to trust you. Trust you to go out and be able to perform, trust you not to get hurt, more important than anything. I think Kiana James checks off all those boxes," Booker T said.
Click here to see what Shawn Michaels had to say about Kiana James moving to WWE Raw.
Kiana James appeared in a backstage segment on the May 13 episode of WWE Raw. Check out our coverage of the show here.
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