Dakota Kai Reveals the Origin of Her Ring Name, What Got Her Into Wrestling

During a recent interview with Insight with Chris Van Vliet, former WWE Superstar Charlie (aka Dakota Kai) discussed the origin of her “Dakota Kai” ring name, what got her into pro wrestling, and more. Below are some highlights from Insight:

Dakota Kai on What Made Her Believe She Could Be a Wrestler

“Yeah, I know, those are our guys. So I watched wrestling with my brother from a very young age, and he was the one that got me into it, because he would sit down and watch Friday night SmackDown and whatever, and I would always be sitting there, like, when is this over? Can I change the channel, please? But it wasn’t until I actually sat down and started watching the storylines. I kind of got into it a little bit later than a lot of people my age. I didn’t watch the Attitude Era or anything like that. I got into it around 2004.”

On the Storyline that Got Her Into Wrestling

“I think it was Stone Cold. Maybe I remember Stone Cold and The Rock, but I don’t know if that was before then, and I was still, like, in this mindset of wrestling? I don’t want to watch this! Put on Full House or something.”

On the Origin of Her ‘Dakota Kai’ Name

“I wanted something Tom-boyish, I guess, for the first name. There’s not many boy Dakotas, but there are a few. I wanted something like that. And then Kai is obviously Pacifica. So I wanted to tie in my Samoan roots with that. That was the first name that I kind of pitched to them, and then it was the one that they greenlit. So I was happy about that. And then it just sounded cool. I wanted a last name and a first name. Right now, I’ve just got one name.”

Charlie recently returned to the ring against a top AEW star, Kris Statlander, last month at Pro Wrestling EVE: Wrestle Queendom VIII. Statlander retained her EVE International Title in the bout. Earlier this month, she faced Shotzi Blackheart for the HOG Women’s Title at HOG Culture Clash, where Shotzi picked up the win.