When the WWE rolled into Atlanta for Friday Night Smackdown it was a show full of past and present champions. Undisputed champ Roman Reigns was back in the town where he played college football. But he was laid out at night’s end by former champion Randy Orton. The women’s tag team champions, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance, were there as well making quick work of the “Unholy Union.”
Me and my family were invited to the show, courtesy of friends at Cricket Wireless that we met at the Celebration Bowl. My girls, ages 10 and 12, were excited by the in ring athleticism that all of the ladies executed in the ring. My youngest is a huge fan of Bianca Belair, who once famously brought the Texas Southern marching band with her to WrestleMania.
On this night the jaw dropping moment came from a series of finishing moves by Kayden Carter, one half of the women’s tag team champions. Carter pulled off the “destroyer” which I can best describe as a forward flipping pile driver, drawing a crazy response from the Atlanta audience. Not done yet, Carter tagged in Chance and pulled off a “Keg Stand” suplexing her teammate onto the opponent for the win.
At one point my 10-year-old leaned into me asking if this was all orchestrated. I assured her that it was while assuring her that was no reason to interfere with a good time.
Before Kayden Carter there was Allyssa Lane
Before Kayden Carter was a tag team champion she was a basketball champion at Shaw University. And before she was Kayden Carter, she was known by her real name, Allyssa Lane. She spent two years at Shaw after starting her career as a JUCO athlete. Lane was a senior on the 2011-12 squad that won the NCAA Division II Championship. In the 88-82 championship victory over Ashland, Lane had a game high six steals in a game that was an overtime thriller in San Antonio.
For the season, Lane averaged four points per game and 3.1 assists. That Shaw Bears team had four players who averaged double figures in scoring, led by Aslea Williams. What’s even more impressive she graduated magna cum laude from the Raleigh, N.C. HBCU.
After showing interest in the wrestling industry, Lane was able to study the art from WWE Hall of Famers “The Dudley Boyz” according to her bio. She also spent time in Mexico learning the lucha libre style which helped maximize her athleticism and high-flying offense.
Her wrestling career really launched when she competed in the 2018 Mae Young Classic at the WWE Performance Center. The effort displayed there led to her career in NXT before ultimately landing in the WWE.
CIAA Aggressiveness prepared Carter
“What people don’t understand is the mentality in basketball is the same as in wrestling,” Carter said in a previous interview with Shaw University. “Being able to handle the kind of schedule we played at Shaw prepared me. I’ve never been in a conference (CIAA) that was so aggressive. It was a bad-ass conference. It was tough, you had to be gritty, you had to take hits. That is the kind of stuff you need in wrestling.”
The future seems bright in the sports entertainment world for the character known as Kayden Carter. She’s been a champion in the WWE for over thirty days after a successful run in the NXT promotion. After the match on Friday night an in ring confrontation is alluding to a future feud with the “Kabuki Warriors.”