New Zealand star Dakota Kai made her NXT debut on October 14 under the ring name Evie. She’d later compete in the Mae Young Classic and quickly established herself as a top prospect in the WWE developmental brand.
After spending years on NXT, it seemed like the former Captain of Team Kick was on her way to the main roster. Kai attempted to capture the NXT Women’s Championship by defeating Mandy Rose but was unsuccessful. While it looked like Kai was finally about to make her presence known on either Raw or SmackDown, WWE released her on April 29, 2022.
Dakota Kai Admitted She Was Not Progressing In NXT
During an appearance on “Out of Character” with Ryan Satin, Kai opened up about her last few months on NXT and why she felt her career stalled after a while.
“I definitely was at a point where I hit a wall I guess. I had that character that sort of changed and was dealing with that for a year and seeing where I could take it. But I think I definitely was at a point in NXT where there wasn’t really anything further that I could do. I’ve had a lot of shots at the NXT Women’s Championship. I was in multiple tag teams. I was with a lot of different people, and I loved all my experiences.”
Dakota Kai expected to move up to the main roster during the 2021 WWE Draft. After competing in several dark matches, the New Zealand star was told she’d be turning up on the main roster then. Kai watched to see if her name had been announced, but it wasn’t.
The former Captain of Team Kick made her WWE return at SummerSlam 2022, aligning herself with Bayley and IYO SKY (Io Shirai) to form Damage CTRL. Since joining the main roster, Kai has won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships and wrestled multiple times on Monday Night Raw.
H/T- Wrestling Inc.