Dakota Kai: ‘My Heart Is With the NXT Brand’

– Sports Illustrated recently interviewed NXT Superstar Dakota Kai. She discussed a potential move to the main roster, another women’s title in NXT, and more. Below are some highlights.

Dakota Kai on pairing up with Raquel Gonzalez: “After WarGames, there was a lot of pressure for me to perform. I needed another element to take it to the next level, and Raquel was that piece. She’s the muscle, and that gave me so much more to play with inside the ring. Initially, this was such a big change for me. Being a babyface came so naturally to me, and it’s what I’d done in NXT and on the independent scene. It was terrifying to me to completely change, but it was also the best for me. I didn’t want to become stagnant—this has allowed me to let my creativity flow. And adding Raquel has been such a huge help. I wouldn’t say it has been easy, but it’s been creatively fulfilling.”

On having another women’s title in NXT: “Having another title within the women’s division would be so feasible for us. here are so many talented women. There are storylines outside of the title picture, and with another title, those would be fighting for something. Last summer at TakeOver: Toronto, Io Shirai and Candice LeRae had a match on the card—and this year at TakeOver in Portland, Tegan and I had a match, so another title would be used well. There are so many talented women, so a secondary title isn’t a crazy idea.”

On her heart being with the NXT brand: “I would absolutely love that. My heart is with the NXT brand. Ever since we went live on USA last year, it’s now more realistic than we can stay in NXT. That’s not to say that, in the future, Raw or SmackDown are completely off the table to me, but there is a certain family element in NXT that you can’t get anywhere else. That comes back to what I was saying about the NXT women’s division. We all want the best for the brand, and that’s hard to come by. I would love to stay here.”