Professional wrestling star Kiana James went through an awkward moment on television during a live WWE show broadcast.
James, real name Kayla Klingensmith, is a WWE performer on the SmackDown brand, competing as a wrestler and serving as the on-screen manager of Giulia, the current WWE Women’s United States Champion.
A wardrobe mishap marred the breakout wrestler’s first Elimination Chamber match on Saturday, February 28. Some fans called out the WWE production team for not blacking out the screen during the incident.
Highlights
- WWE superstar Kiana James suffered a wardrobe malfunction during a live Elimination Chamber match against Tiffany Stratton.
- Six-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Raquel Rodriguez also faced a similar mishap during the event.
- Fans slammed the professional wrestling promotion for not being more vigilant with their censorship of such mishaps.
“These new up-close camera angles are horrible,” one user wrote.
WWE criticized over Kiana James’ wardrobe malfunction on live TV
Image credits: Georgiana Dallas/WWE/Getty Images
The WWE Women’s Elimination Chamber 2026 took place at the United Center in Chicago. The female superstars opened the proceedings. The participants were Rhea Ripley, Raquel Rodriguez, Kiana James, Tiffany Stratton, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka.
Introduced in 2002, Elimination Chamber is a multi-participant match in which two competitors start the contest, and others are released into the ring at specific intervals from their designated enclosures surrounding the ring.
Image credits: Andrew Timms/WWE/Getty Images
James and Stratton started the match, with the former wearing a purple and silver two-piece outfit.
During a heated segment of the contest, Stratton used a move called a leg drop on James’ torso, which sent her to the ground. As she lay flat on the canvas of the ring, her low-cut top slipped down and exposed her breast.
Image credits: Georgiana Dallas/WWE/Getty Images
One user blasted WWE for not censoring the moment.
“If I was Kiana James, I’d be so upset with WWE because they did not put up a black screen when Kiana had an unfortunate wardrobe mishap inside Elimination Chamber,” the user said on Threads.
“Everything down there was visible on TV, yet the cameraman did not move away from Kiana. Even the production team did not put a black screen like they always do for women, and now the video of the embarrassing moment of Kiana James has gone viral on the Internet.”
Another WWE star also suffered a similar mishap during the Elimination Chamber event
Image credits: 619WellRep/X
Unfortunately, Kiana James was not the only one to undergo a wardrobe mishap at the event. Later in the night, Raquel Rodriguez also suffered a similar fate.
Rodriguez was dropped into the ring by Stratton with a move called a hurricanrana during one segment. The force of the fall caused Rodriguez’s top to shift, but she quickly adjusted her clothing back in place.
Image credits: 619WellRep/X
According to some viewers who watched the event on TV at home, both instances were blink-and-you-miss-it moments.
“Am I the only one that didn’t even see it?” one person wrote on Threads. Another said, “I didn’t notice anything.”
Some who did notice it urged the WWE superstars to be more careful with their attire. “Wear something that isn’t gonna fail,” one comment read.
Another said, “Someone needs to do better in approving the outfits. There was a lot of leather, hooks, studs, etc. that could cause any of the women’s wardrobes to get caught on someone else’s.”
Kiana James worked at a corporate job before signing with the WWE
Image credits: kianajames_wwe/Instagram
James signed with the WWE in 2022 after an initial training period at Orlando’s Flatbacks Wrestling School. She made it to the promotion’s main roster through the developmental brand, NXT.
Before all that, she was working at a corporate job when a LinkedIn search set her on this path.
“I got re-exposed to WWE in college,” she told Uncrowned. “My college coach was obsessed with Total Divas. I started watching that reality show but I learned a little bit more towards the wrestling, and I thought to myself, ‘I really want to do this.’”
Image credits: kianajames_wwe/Instagram
“At the time, I was working a corporate job. I went on LinkedIn, typed in WWE, and anyone who had it in their profile, I just copied and pasted a message asking, ‘How do I get in this? Here’s a video of me doing flips in my gym.’ Eventually, I got the right person and got a tryout.”
James was called up to the main roster from NXT in April 2024, but shortly after her debut, she suffered a knee injury that sidelined her for more than a year.
She returned to action in the 2026 Royal Rumble, a 30-woman battle where the last one standing inside the ring earns a championship match at WrestleMania.
"Wear something that fits": Social media erupted after WWE star Kiana James suffered a wardrobe malfunction live on TV
