1. Dakota Kai is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand with the ring name Dakota Kai, and is a member of Damage CTRL.
21 Facts About Dakota Kai
1. 2.
Dakota Kai is known for her time in NXT, where she won the inaugural Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, and is a former two-time NXT Women's Tag Team Champion.
3.
Dakota Kai competed in a losing effort against Hikaru Shida at Shimmer Volume 62 in April 2014.
4.
The word Dakota Kai means sea in the Polynesian language, indicating her journey to get to WWE, and contrary to popular belief, is not a reference to Leilani Dakota Kai.
5.
On 25 October 2017 episode of NXT, Dakota Kai returned to television, competing in a women's battle royal won by Nikki Cross.
6.
On 10 January 2018 episode of NXT, Dakota Kai lost to the debuting Shayna Baszler by referee stoppage after Baszler stomped and injured her arm.
7.
Dakota Kai won a WrestleMania Axxess tournament for an NXT Women's Championship match, but was defeated by newly crowned champion Baszler.
8.
In parallel to her activities in NXT, Dakota Kai appeared in the newly created NXT UK brand.
9.
On 17 January 2019, Dakota Kai announced on her Twitter page that she sustained a torn ACL, during an NXT live event in December, which would sideline her from in-ring competition for the next few months.
10.
However, before she entered the ring, Dakota Kai attacked her tag team partner Nox, turning heel for the first time in her career.
11.
On 29 March episode of NXT, after Toxic Attraction took out Choo, Dakota Kai attacked the group and was assisted by a returning Raquel Gonzalez, whom Dakota Kai embraced afterwards, turning face for the first time since 2019.
12.
On 29 April 2022, Dakota Kai was released from her WWE contract.
13.
Dakota Kai had reportedly expressed to the company that she was not planning on renewing her contract prior to her release.
14.
On 30 July 2022, Dakota Kai re-signed with WWE and returned at SummerSlam alongside Bayley and Iyo Sky, confronting Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair.
15.
Dakota Kai officially joined the Raw brand as a heel and made her debut for the brand the following night.
16.
On 28 January 2023, Dakota Kai entered the women's Royal Rumble match at the titular event.
17.
Dakota Kai eliminated five wrestlers before being eliminated by Lynch.
18.
Dakota Kai began to appear regularly in a manager role for Damage CTRL until she was medically cleared for in-ring competition.
19.
In late 2024, Dakota Kai entered the tournament to crown the inaugural Women's Intercontinental Champion, challenging Lyra Valkyria in the finals on the 13 January 2025 episode of Raw, which she lost.
20.
Dakota Kai's mother is originally from the Samoan village of Lepea on the island of Upolu.
21.
Dakota Kai has two younger siblings: a sister named Nyrene, who is a mixed martial artist, and a brother named Earl, who first introduced her to professional wrestling.