Katana Chance Bio
Kacy Esther Catanzaro, known professionally by her ring name Katana Chance, is an American professional wrestler and former gymnast and obstacle-course racer. She is best known for her time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where she performed alongside Kayden Carter. Together, the pair captured both the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship and the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, becoming the first women’s tag team to hold both titles. Before entering the wrestling industry, Catanzaro gained national recognition as a trailblazing competitor on the television sports show American Ninja Warrior.
Standing five feet tall and competing in the lightweight division, Catanzaro built a reputation for speed, agility, and resilience. Her transition from gymnastics and obstacle racing to professional wrestling made her one of the most distinctive performers of her generation. Over the course of her career, she earned a reputation for high-flying offense and for elevating women’s tag team wrestling on both the NXT and main roster stages.
Early Life and Background
Kacy Esther Catanzaro was born on January 14, 1990, in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, and grew up in the nearby community of Belleville. She is of Italian descent and attended Belleville High School, where she first began developing her athletic foundation. From a young age, Catanzaro showed a natural aptitude for movement-based sports, and that talent would soon carry her into the world of competitive gymnastics.
Catanzaro began training in gymnastics at the age of six and progressed rapidly through the competitive ranks. She reached Level 10 in 2007 and competed at the 2007 New Jersey Level 10 State Championships, where she placed fifth in the Senior-A division. The following year, she placed third at the same event and advanced to the 2008 Junior Olympic National Championships, finishing twenty-third overall and sixth on the balance beam.
After high school, Catanzaro attended Towson University in Maryland on an athletic scholarship, studying early childhood education. She competed for the Towson Tigers gymnastics team in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), making her debut in the 2009 season. During her collegiate career, she helped Towson win the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships in 2009 and 2010. In her senior year, she was named the Southeast Regional Gymnast of the Year and the 2012 ECAC Gymnast of the Year, finishing as the top-ranked competitor in her conference.
Path to Professional Wrestling
After completing her collegiate gymnastics career, Catanzaro shifted her focus to obstacle-course racing. She worked for Alpha Warrior, an obstacle-course gym in San Antonio, Texas, beginning in February 2013, while training for American Ninja Warrior alongside fellow competitor Brent Steffensen. Her appearance on the show brought her national attention, particularly in 2014, when she became the first woman to complete a City Qualifiers course and the first woman to complete a City Finals course, finishing the Dallas finals run in just under nine minutes and qualifying for the national finals in Las Vegas.
That 2014 run became a cultural moment, with her performance viewed more than one hundred million times online and supporters adopting the hashtag #MightyKacy. She continued to compete on the show for several seasons, including a notable appearance on the Japanese version Sasuke in 2016, where she set a record for the furthest a female athlete had gone on the renewed Stage 1 course. By 2017, she announced her retirement from American Ninja Warrior, with season nine marking her final appearance.
Catanzaro’s athletic background and television profile eventually drew the attention of WWE. On January 4, 2017, she received a tryout at the WWE Performance Center, and later that year, it was announced during the Mae Young Classic that she had been signed to a WWE contract. On January 18, 2018, WWE officially confirmed that she had reported to the Performance Center, beginning the next chapter of her athletic career.
Katana Chance Career
Early Career (2018–2019)
Kacy Catanzaro made her in-ring debut at a NXT live event on April 19, 2018, in Sanford, Florida, in a losing effort to Reina González. She continued to appear throughout 2018 in both house shows and on NXT television, working as a fan favorite and adopting a slogan inspired by Alexa Bliss, referencing her own diminutive stature. Catanzaro made her televised debut in the second Mae Young Classic on September 12, 2018, defeating González in the first round before being eliminated in the second round by Rhea Ripley.
On January 27, 2019, Catanzaro made her main roster debut, entering the Royal Rumble at number nineteen and lasting more than ten minutes before being eliminated by Ripley. She transitioned to the NXT brand shortly afterward, but in September 2019, reports emerged that she had resigned from WWE and retired from professional wrestling due to an ongoing back injury. She later revealed that she had struggled with doubts about continuing in the wrestling business during that period.
NXT Return and Tag Team Success (2020–2023)
Catanzaro returned to NXT on January 15, 2020, appearing as a surprise entrant in a women’s battle royal. Over the following year, she began teaming with Kayden Carter, and the duo quickly developed into a prominent force in the NXT women’s tag team division. In 2021, Catanzaro and Carter reached the semifinals of the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, and over the next year, they continued to build momentum, though injuries and stiff competition slowed their rise.
On April 19, 2022, Catanzaro’s ring name was officially changed to Katana Chance. Just months later, on August 2, Chance and Carter won the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship in a fatal four-way elimination match, lastly eliminating Toxic Attraction. The victory marked Kacy’s first professional wrestling championship. They defended the titles against teams including Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H., as well as Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark, and on January 8, 2023, they became the longest-reigning NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions. Their reign ended at 186 days at NXT Vengeance Day, when they lost the titles to Fallon Henley and Kiana James.
Main Roster Era (2023–2025)
As part of the 2023 WWE Draft, Chance and Carter were selected by the Raw brand, where they made their main roster debut on June 5 in a losing effort against Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler. Nearly six months later, on December 18, 2023, they defeated Chelsea Green and Piper Niven to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, becoming the first women’s tag team to have won both the WWE and NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships. Their reign lasted 39 days, ending on January 26, 2024, when they lost the titles to The Kabuki Warriors of Damage CTRL.
In February 2025, Chance and Carter were transferred to the SmackDown brand as part of the post-2024 draft transfer window. However, on May 2, 2025, both Chance and Carter were released from WWE, concluding their run with the promotion after nearly eight years. Their partnership was widely regarded as one of the most consistent and respected women’s tag teams in recent WWE memory.
Style and Strengths
Katana Chance built her in-ring style around her background as a gymnast and obstacle-course athlete, blending agility, quickness, and high-flying offense. Despite competing at a height of five feet and a weight of approximately 45 kilograms, she delivered fast-paced strikes, innovative springboard attacks, and dynamic double-team combinations with Kayden Carter. Her conditioning and ability to absorb punishment allowed her to thrive against larger opponents, while her instincts for movement-based wrestling made her especially effective in multi-woman matches and ladder bouts.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among the most significant milestones of Katana Chance’s career are her 2014 American Ninja Warrior breakthrough runs, her first championship victory in NXT in 2022, and her record-setting reign as NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion. Chance and Carter also made history as the first women’s tag team to capture both the WWE and NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships. Her televised debut, her Royal Rumble appearance, and her video-game inclusion in WWE 2K22, WWE 2K23, WWE 2K24, and WWE 2K25 further cemented her presence across multiple entertainment platforms.
Katana Chance Career Wins
Throughout her professional wrestling career, Katana Chance captured major tag team gold in WWE, establishing herself as one of the most decorated women’s tag team competitors of her era. Her championship résumé includes both the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship and the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, each won alongside Kayden Carter.
NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Highlights
Chance and Carter won the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship on August 2, 2022, on NXT television, defeating Toxic Attraction, Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H., and another tag team in a fatal four-way elimination match. Their reign of 186 days set the record for the longest reign in the title’s history. They successfully defended the championships multiple times, including victories over Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark, before losing the titles to Fallon Henley and Kiana James at NXT Vengeance Day in early 2023.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Highlights
On December 18, 2023, Chance and Carter defeated Chelsea Green and Piper Niven on Raw to capture the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, becoming the first women’s tag team to hold both the WWE and NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships. Their first successful title defense came on January 8, 2024, in a rematch against Green and Niven. The reign concluded on January 26, 2024, when they dropped the titles to The Kabuki Warriors of Damage CTRL on SmackDown.
Katana Chance Family
Family Background and Personal Life
Kacy Esther Catanzaro is of Italian descent and grew up in Belleville, New Jersey, after being born in nearby Glen Ridge. Her family supported her early athletic pursuits, including her start in gymnastics at the age of six. Information about her parents and siblings has not been publicly confirmed in available sources.
Personal Life
Catanzaro previously dated fellow American Ninja Warrior competitor Brent Steffensen, with whom she trained for several seasons. She later had a relationship with professional wrestler Trevor Mann, best known by his ring name Ricochet. She is currently in a relationship with fitness trainer Naoufal Abouelhouda.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season marked a transitional and ultimately difficult chapter for Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. Following their transfer to the SmackDown brand in February 2025 as part of the post-2024 draft transfer window, the duo sought to establish themselves on a new stage. However, their momentum was cut short when both Chance and Carter were released from WWE on May 2, 2025, ending their multi-year run with the company.
Despite the unexpected conclusion of their WWE tenure, Chance and Carter left behind a significant legacy in women’s tag team wrestling. Their record-setting NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship reign and their status as the first women’s tag team to capture both major WWE tag titles cemented their place among the most accomplished women’s duos in recent history. Their partnership showcased the potential of smaller, speed-based teams to thrive at the highest levels of the industry.
Looking ahead, Katana Chance’s future in professional wrestling remains open, though her experience, athleticism, and championship pedigree ensure she will remain a notable figure in the sport. Her impact as a trailblazer continues to inspire a new generation of smaller and more agile competitors pursuing careers in the squared circle.
