Charlotte Flair told Kiana James she is raising the bar for everyone else.
Flair was a guest on What’s Your Story? with Steph McMahon and recalled a conversation with James shortly after James had beaten her.
I told her one time, I think it was after the qualifier for [Elimination] Chamber. She was stressed about something. I was like, ‘I am telling you, I’ve been doing this for a long time and you make me want to step up my game. You were doing everything you’re supposed to.’
She was specific about what she meant by it.
When I am in that ring and I go, ‘Oh, damn. She’s making me work hard for this.’ She’s going to be such a star.
The match behind the conversation was a big one for James. On the February 20 SmackDown, she pinned Flair in a triple threat with Nia Jax to qualify for the Elimination Chamber. Flair had the Figure Eight locked in on Jax and looked seconds from winning when James slid back into the ring and stole the fall.
It was the biggest result of James’s career at that point, and it read as the start of a real push. The Chamber itself ran on February 28 at the United Center in Chicago, with a WrestleMania 42 title shot on the line.
Flair covered plenty else in the same conversation, including what she called the best year of her career and her reaction to her father’s posts on social media.
