Kayden Carter

Lane enrolled in the Team 3D Academy in 2016, and wrestled regularly for a number of different Florida-based independent promotions. Her first public match was a winning effort against Trish Adora for the Go Wrestle promotion in Daytona Beach in August 2016. Lane had a tryout at the WWE Performance Center in February 2017, after which she was offered a developmental contract. However, a physical examination revealed arthritis in her knee, and the contract was rescinded. Lane spent four months rehabbing her knee, and in November 2017 she joined The Crash Lucha Libre in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, eventually winning their Women's Championship from Keyra on January 20, 2018. She held the title for 175 days before losing it to Tessa Blanchard in a triple threat match that also included Santana Garrett on July 14, 2018.[5][6][7]

After passing a second physical, Lane signed with WWE in July 2018.[4] Lane took part in that year's Mae Young Classic, defeating Vanessa Kraven in the first round and Taynara Conti in the second round,[8][9] before being defeated by Meiko Satomura in the quarterfinals.[10] In September 2019, Lane's ringname was changed to Kayden Carter.[11] On the January 29, 2020 episode of NXT, Carter had her first victory on television, defeating Chelsea Green.[12] She was defeated in their rematch on the February 19 episode of NXT.[13] On the September 16 episode of NXT, Carter teamed with Kacy Catanzaro in a winning effort against Jessi Kamea and Xia Li.[14] The following week, she competed in a battle royal to determine the number one contender for the NXT Women's Championship, but was eliminated by Raquel González.[15] On the September 30 episode of NXT, Carter fought with Li and defeated her, offering a hand after the match but was pushed to the mat instead.[16]